D/C: I do not own anything. All rights belong to L.J Smith , Julie Plec and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended. This is an OOC AU reimagining of TVD, focusing on Caroline Forbes as the doppelganger. There are elements of what we've already seen but, I promise this isn't a regurgitation of the original.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favored/followed and reviewed. I'd like to thank my dream team of betas for helping me the past few days. Someone had asked again about Klaus. No lie, I'm a Klaroline shipper. I see this going that way, but we aren't there yet. For the time being we're gonna be in AU Daroline-land.

The Preternatural Journals

"Haunted"

[-0-]

Sheila Bennett was hot for an old bag, Stefan Salvatore mused to himself. Better when they crossed paths in 1969 but, still hot none the less.

In the dead of night, he drove to the old witch's property hoping to have an audience. After several knocks and draining the little patience Stefan had, Sheila answered, her pouty lips pressed in a grim line and her hand out stretched, ready to wield magic.

"You have a lot of nerve knocking on a Bennett's door in the middle of the night," she said.

Stefan looked at her with his smoldering green eyes and smirked.

"Yet you answered," he quipped.

"What is it that you want with me vampire?" she asked, her hand still poised for attack.

The young Salvatore raised his palms slowly – the universal sign of peace.

"Calm down will, you gosh," Stefan sighed. "I'm here on behalf of my brother Damon. Well… mostly for me, but that it's all apples and oranges. You and yours owe us a favor."

Sheila's toffee colored eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"

"Listen," Stefan said, picking a piece of imaginary lint from his leather jacket. "A century and a half ago, your ancestor, Emily Bennett, was dragged off by the citizens of this town and lit up like Korean barbecue. Her dying wish was that her children survive. Guess who she asked? Damon Salvatore."

Seasoned witches like Sheila were practically soothsayers. You couldn't lie to them. He watched smugly as the truth of his words sank in.

"So it appears that I am honor bound," she admitted heavily, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.

Stefan nodded, pleased that he wouldn't have to ruffle any witchy feathers. "Yes, it appears that way."

"What is it you and your brother will be needing?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Sheila peered at it curiously. Slowly unraveling it, he held it up to her face. It was an amulet. Octagonal shaped with an iron setting.

"Are you familiar with this Miss Sheila?" Stefan asked.

The old woman nodded her head. "Emily Bennett's talisman. It's been lost for centuries."

He rolled his eyes, irritated by the dreamy-mystic quality in the woman's voice. It's an ugly ass necklace, get over it. Witches were such drama-queens.

"What if I told you it wasn't so lost?" Stefan said. He found shock and bewilderment in Sheila's eyes. "What if I were able to return it to you? Would you be able to do a certain spell?"

[-0-]

The next morning, Stefan was greeted by the loud slamming a newspaper on their kitchen island. Damon was here.

"Good morning, big bro," Stefan said sleepily.

He did his best to concentrate on his math assignment while his brother's form towered over him. "Are you going to say anything or do I need to check the setting on our telepathy rings?" He asked glibly.

"There was an animal attack last night," Damon shared. "Three campers dead."

Stefan paused mid pencil stroke, frowning. "Huh."

He hissed in surprise as Damon pulled his head back by his hair.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Stefan swore. "Let go of me."

"Where were you last night?" Damon demanded.

Stefan swatted his brother's arm, freeing himself from the hold.

"Let's not beat around the bush," he said defensively. "If you've got something to say, brother, then just say it."

Fiery tourmaline eyes stared down at him. "Did you kill those people? Huh? After all those arguments and talks we had?"

Stefan stood, his nose pressed to his brother's. "No. I didn't."

"The article says that they had severe blood loss and were dismembered as in decapitated. Sounds like Ripper modus operandi to me, brother," Damon said.

It was.

When Stefan's alter ego took hold of him, he would feed on his victims to the point of no blood. After that he would detach their limbs from their bodies. Then, depending on his state, Stefan would either place the bodies back together – like puzzle pieces, or he would leave them. There was no doubt that it sounded like The Ripper's handiwork.

"It wasn't me Damon," Stefan said firmly. "I've been doing what you said. Bags only. I want Avery back. I wouldn't risk her."

The two brothers stared at one another for minutes, unblinking.

"Who could it be?" Damon wondered, once he had deemed Stefan innocent.

The younger Salvatore returned to his homework.

"Are you sure it's not just an animal for once?"

"The killings were too precise," Damon dismissed.

Stefan looked up from his work, skeptical. "How do I know it wasn't you?"

His brother blanched, offended. "How can you even ask me that?"

Green eyes burned back at his brother with an indignant glare. "You aren't as innocent as you've been pretending lately. Let me remind you, brother, you may not be a ripper, but your past is just as colorful as mine."

Damon blinked.

"For all I know you're trying to get the humans on vampire alert," Stefan theorized, pointing his pencil. "Trying to back out of our bargain brother, now that you've got what you want?"

"Are you talking about Caroline?" he asked.

The number two pencil zoomed across the table stabbing Damon in the chest.

"No," Stefan said. "Lauren Conrad. Yes, Caroline."

Damon inhaled briskly snatching the writing utensil out of his pectoral muscle. "Stefan, when you came to me twenty years ago talking about crystals and tombs and 1864, I promised that I would help you. We hatched a scheme together. Why would I betray you when I've spent the past two decades trying to help you?"

When the vampires of this town were rounded up in 1864, Stefan and Damon both knew that Avery and the rest had not burned, unlike what the original founders believed. Emily Bennett used her necklace that was fueled by the power of the comet, to them hide in a tomb under Fell's Church. After the dust had settled, the brothers had gone back to the church only to discover that they could not open the door. It soon became clear that the Bennett witch had not simply hidden them, she had sealed the vampires in with no way out.

In the late eighties Stefan came across a witch with a vast knowledge of crystal magic. After sharing a few details he learned that if he had the crystal used in the original spell, the comet and a witch, the tomb would open.

"Don't think that I didn't to notice how zero percent of your emotional appeal addressed Caroline," Stefan pointed out.

Stefan knew that Avery had played the both of them back in the day. All these years, Damon swore up and down that his feelings for Avery Thayer weren't real. She had compelled his love, while Stefan's experiences had been genuine. Stefan wanted to save her because he was completely in love with her. Damon wanted closure – he wanted to know why he had been turned. Why had Avery felt the need for both of the Salvatore brothers?

The younger Salvatore had been content to believe his brother, until the elder had started sniffing around Caroline Forbes.

"My feelings for Caroline have nothing to do with what happened one hundred and forty five years ago," Damon retaliated. "I'm helping you get Avery out of that fucking tomb because you love her, Stef. You, not me!"

Stefan shrugged his shoulders. "I'd believe you more if your new Love Jones didn't look exactly like the last one."

"What do you want then?" Damon shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "For me to sit back and watch you flounder this? You have to get the crystal, get the Bennett witches on board and then make sure they actually follow through – you know how fickle witches are. Or should I have your back?"

The boys sat in silence, trying to mentally access the other.

"So you weren't trying to sabotage me with that animal attack?" Stefan asked tentatively.

Damon shook his head, sighing heavily. "No."

Stefan frowned, perplexed. "Well if it wasn't us then who was it?"

[-0-]

Damon and Caroline were sitting at a booth in The Grill. Earlier that week, Damon had shared that one of his favorite books was Jack London's Call of the Wild and Caroline vaguely promised that she would take a look at it. She had.

"You didn't tell me it was about some puppy."

He smiled, rolling his eyes at her complaint. "I'd hardly call Buck a puppy."

The canine protagonist was a Saint Bernard mix.

"You also didn't say how sad it was – a puppy stolen from his home in California, forced to become a pack horse in the Yukon."

Damon arched his brows, enjoying her slightly inaccurate summary. "By pack horse do you mean sled dog?"

She mimicked his incredulous stare. "You know what I'm saying," she huffed, waving her hands in dismissal. "Don't get me started on Francois and Spitz – which as a terrible name for a dog, by the way; and the part with the red sweater guy, my gosh!"

"How far did you get?" He asked.

Caroline bit her bottom lip. "I…um…I actually read the whole thing."

The book was roughly one hundred and seventy pages.

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

It wasn't a terribly long read, but Damon knew that Caroline had other things going on. He'd only mentioned it Tuesday night. It was Thursday.

Her ash blonde brows dipped sadly. "Why not?"

"You don't have to push your school work aside for –,"

"High school really isn't that hard," she said flippantly. "It's just a book Damon. I wanted to read something that you liked...Besides," The bravado in her voice was gone. Caroline's features were soft, vulnerable. "It's still weird for me, being out of my old house. I don't sleep much anymore since I moved in with Meredith. I'm not used to the new space."

Damon reached across the table taking Caroline's hand in his. He admired her small hand in his larger one.

"It gets easier," he offered, hoping it gave her some comfort. "The pain of not having her around. It doesn't go away but it wanes. My mother passed when I was six. It took a long time before I could think of her without that ache in my chest. It sucks less. Eventually."

Her blue eyes radiated with empathy and gratitude for his sharing.

"I'm so sorry," she exhaled, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

He smiled softly at her, unable to say that his mother had been buried for over a century.

"So tell me," he urged, hoping to steer the subject to something lighter. "What else did you think of the book?"

"Well," Caroline began, gracing him with a crooked smile. "It did give me some perspective about you."

He blinked, not expecting her to say that. "Oh? Do tell, what insight did you glean?"

"Besides your sophisticated use of vocabulary?" She earned a light chuckle from him. "You're a survivor. Here's someone, or in Buck's case, an animal, who is taken from all that he knows and thrown into this harsh, gritty environment and he has to adapt. Even in the violence he thrives. I don't know you very well, but I think you identify with his strength and his ability to care even when so much has happened to harden his heart."

Damon is shaken by Caroline's analysis. Mostly because it was so much more evolved than her initial commentary. He did identify with Buck. He was in no sense a sledding dog, but Damon was a vampire, an animal; like Buck, Damon had once been domesticated creature, human, who under circumstances beyond his control had been transformed into a beast.

"You didn't find him barbaric? Uncivilized?" he asked while clearing his throat.

Caroline's head tiled to the right as she thought of her answer. Damon noticed that she did this often while in thought. Her eyes would focus into space while her nose scrunched in concentration. He had to fight the urge to reach out and smooth the wrinkle of her brow.

"Not really," she replied. "I mean it's all in the title right? Call of the wild? There's no place for civility in the primal world. Honor, yes. Loyalty, sure. Buck cared about a few and loved even less but, it was primitive. Darwin. Buck did what he had to in order to survive. Terrible things happened to him and he made himself stronger. He had to fight back however he could. It doesn't necessarily make him barbaric. There was purpose to the violence, whether or not it had to happen is a totally different discussion."

Again Damon was floored by her mind. What was even more sobering was how close Caroline's views rang true with his views on vampirism.

When one is turned their inherent traits are exacerbated by the vampire condition. Everything is magnified. The part of you that is civil, that is humane, only remains if you can manage to hold onto the sliver of you that cares. The blood you must drink to survive courses through your veins, howling out to the predator, the primal demon within. Things like honor, loyalty and even love had a place in the supernatural realm.

For a long time Damon struggled. It took decades of pointless death and debauchery before he felt he had some control over the monster within. He fed off of human blood, because that was what he preferred, but he didn't let his baser instincts possess him. That didn't mean that it wasn't there. There was a beast inside of him, just under the surface.

"Hey, are you alright?" Caroline asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

Damon frowned at her insecurity.

"Not at all," he said. "I'm very impressed with your evaluation, Caroline. Very shrewd and astute."

She shrugged and Damon could tell that his words weren't taken to the heart.

"It's the blonde hair and the big boobs thing," she said, giving a self-deprecating laugh. "It confuses people."

"I'm wasn't making fun of you," he said, hoping that he heard her this time. "I meant it, don't sell yourself short."

Caroline gives him a small smile.

"Besides," he sighed. "I happen to like beautiful girls who read more than just Teen Vogue."

"What do you have against Vogue?"

Damon opened his mouth to speak when he noticed that their waiter had arrived.

He was a tall blond with a soldier's build. Damon felt like he was a cross between an All-American Boy Scout and a cake topper.

"Matt," Caroline said in surprise.

"Care," Cake Topper – Matt said.

Damon's lips pursed in annoyance, he didn't like the way that Cake Topper was looking at his girl.

This must be the boyfriend, he deduced. Well, ex-boyfriend.

"Did you two know what you wanted to order?" Cake Topper asked.

Caroline looked to Damon.

"Order whatever you want, Angel Face," he told her.

Damon bit back a smile as Cake Topper made a grim face.

"Cheeseburger – no pickles, seasoned fries and an iced tea with an orange slice please," she said, not bothering to look at the menu.

Cake Topper smirked at Caroline, as though knowing her dinner order gave him some true foothold in her life. "Your usual then." He turned to stare down at Damon. "For you?"

"I'll have the same," Damon decided.

He waited until Cake Topper is gone before he spoke again.

"I take it you two used to be an item," he said casually.

Caroline grimaced. "Was it that obvious?"

"He looked like he wanted to punch me for a second," Damon laughed, knowing that a hit from Cake Topper wouldn't hurt him in the slightest.

"The break up was…out of the blue," she said regretfully. "I just ended it and bailed."

This interested Damon. He knew that her feelings didn't run deep, but nothing of the break up. "Out of the blue?"

"We had no real chemistry," she said, unaware that Damon already knew. "On paper we make sense. Two blonds. Football star and a cheerleader. I've known Matt forever and honestly he's a great guy, but –"

"– it was forced," Damon finished.

Caroline nodded. "Well..."

"Well?" He echoed.

"This makes me sound terrible, but he used to like my friend, Elena. She rejected him and then a little while later Matt liked me and I just went with it."

"There's nothing wrong with dating," he said thoughtfully.

"After my mom...okay...even before my mom died I knew that I was more flattered by the fact that Matt even considered me after wanting to be with Elena for so long. Matt ended up really caring for me. It was like Elena didn't exist. I may not have been his first choice, but he never made me feel like -"

"A consolation prize," he finished.

"Flattered and grateful aren't the same as head over heels, ya'know?"

Damon nodded.

"Anyway, at my mom's wake…I was having a melt-down. Everyone kept trying to be there for me. Coddle me, hover over me. It was suffocating. I took it out on Matt. He's always been so nice and kind to me. All that guilt just piled up and I blurted out that I wanted to end it and just ran away from him. I haven't talked to him since I got back which isn't fair. He deserved more than that from me."

Caroline stares off toward the bar, lost in thought and for a moment Damon left her to her memories.

"You must have some exes," she said when she recovered. "I mean look at you, you're so handsome and mysterious," Her hands are up gesturing to him. "Tell me a tragic romance tale, Mr. Salvatore."

In his afterlife Damon made a point to not do relationships, not in the true sense. Mentally he scrolled through the women that he 'dated' over the decades. He knew it would be easier to pick a simple one night stand because of those there had been many, but in his long dead heart he believed that he should share some of his true past with Caroline. The one time he loved another woman deeply it had been so painful that he barely survived it. He took a deep breath, readying himself to tell her about the love that made him hurt.

"She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen," he said. "She was smart and funny and had such a gorgeous smile. One smile from her and you were in love. It couldn't be helped. There wasn't a guy around who didn't want her, my little brother included."

"Oh," Caroline whispered.

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"We had been together for a while and I was so in love. I was ready to give her my mother's ring. The night I proposed, she told me that she had been with Stefan," he said.

"How could he do that to you?" She asked outraged.

Damon shook his head, silently pleased that Caroline seemed so agitated on his behalf. "Stefan didn't know how deep my feelings were. Anyway, after learning about that I thought it best to let her go. To end it. But a break up was not in her plans. She wanted us both… she kept seeing us both."

"Why didn't you just kick her butt to the curb?"

Damon smiled darkly. Compulsion was the true answer. Avery had compelled him and Stefan to keep their relationships with her from one another. "Our lady was selfish and manipulative and we both thought we were in love with her."

"What a bitch," Caroline muttered. "Where is she now?"

"Dead," he said. "There was a fire."

That was true but only by half.

As far as Damon knew no one was that the vampires trapped in the church were hiding in the catacombs of the church. For the past one hundred and forty-five years they had been locked inside a tomb, desiccating.

"I'm sorry that you and your brother went through that," Caroline said. "Maybe I should be nicer to Stefan."

"Please don't," Damon pleaded. "I'll never hear the end of it."

Caroline didn't appear to need much convincing. "Well, if you say so."

"Did I scare you?" Damon asked. "With my love story."

Blonde curls shimmed in the light as Caroline shook her head.

"You're Buck, remember? A true survivor. You're what other people would call incredible."

Her voice rang with such admiration and pride as she spoke that Damon could not doubt her sincerity. He dipped his head and smiled softly at her compliment.

A waiter, not Cake Topper, brought their food and they ate in peace.

[-0-]

"So after our date last night, Damon drives me home and he doesn't kiss me!" Caroline exclaimed, causing Bonnie and Elena to wince at the shrillness.

It was Friday, the night of the Founder's Party, and the girls were at the Gilbert house getting ready.

Elena stood in the bathroom she shared with her little brother curling her hair with a curling wand. Tonight she wanted something different than her usual look.

"We were sitting in his vintage Camaro, top up," Caroline told them. "He leans in and then I'm waiting. Eyes closed. Abs clenched with anticipation and then Damon's nuzzling my face…like breathing me in all sexy. I swear he smelled so good I could barely stand it then BAM! Moment's gone and he's telling me goodnight."

"Well you've only been seeing Damon a few days," Elena sighed while spraying product on a section of her long, chestnut locks.

"Yeah," Bonnie added. She was sitting on the bed, painting her nails. She had chosen a neon blue, to contrast with her hot pink lace fit and flare dress. "Maybe he doesn't want to rush."

Elena could hear Caroline raspberry in irritation. "What guy doesn't want to make out a little," she grumbled. "I mean… I'm cute. Right? Like, seriously? What the hell?"

Elena and Bonnie chuckled.

Caroline was standing in front of the long mirror in Elena's closet, in her bra and underwear, manipulating her blond hair into a Dutch crown braid. "You're supposed to be agreeing with me, not laughing at my expense."

"Don't pout, Care," Bonnie said. "You're gorgeous. Maybe he had bad breath? You guys just ate."

"Maybe it's the age gap," Elena suggested.

Or the fact that he's a vampire could have something to do with it, she speculated.

Elena sat through the dinner party the other night watching Stefan and Damon carefully. For the most part she thought they were all right, Damon anyway. He seemed funny and doting on Caroline and obviously, he was very attractive. Damon Salvatore was everything a girl could want. The only problem was that he was dead. It was wrong for Damon and Stefan to exist and it was especially wrong for Damon to try and have a relationship with Caroline. What kind of future did he expect her to have? Was he hanging around in order to turn her? Whatever it was, Elena couldn't allow it.

If it were solely up to her, Elena would just tell Caroline what the truth but, Stefan was holding her back.

Stefan had been giving her small amounts of his blood all week to keep Elena from telling anyone about what had happened to her at the back to school party. She didn't want the vampires running around town, but she also didn't want to die. Elena knew Caroline like the back of her hand. For years the two girls competed for everything. Grades, popularity, boys, you name it. She may not be able to tell her friend or anyone for that matter about the vampires, but Elena could plant some doubt and simply hope that Caroline would sabotage her budding relationship. If Elena planned to separate Caroline from Damon then she'd have to play on her best friend's insecurities.

The brunette finished her last curl and doused her hair in another cloud of holding spray. While the curls cooled, Elena moved on to her make up.

"Do you think it's for the best?" She asked as she started her smokey eyes.

Elena could hear Caroline shuffling around near the closet, most likely shimmying into her dress.

"What do you mean, 'Lena?" Caroline asked.

"Well…you've hung out enough…alone," Elena reasoned. In the mirror she stared at her reflection critically, making sure that her eye shadow was even. She used a clean brush to blend out her right eye till it looked more like the left. "Maybe it's a sign. He just doesn't see you that way."

Elena could sense Caroline's disappointment from where she stood.

"Do you think so?" Her friend wondered.

Elena feathered her hair with her hands and secured a pouf with some bobby pins.

"Two hot people alone in a car, not kissing," she sighed. "The writing's on the wall, babe."

Elena turned and grabbed the dress hanging on the rack on her bathroom door. It was a floral dress with a ruffled bodice and a pencil skirt. The tight dress suited her frame, accentuating her slender waist and butt. She took her time unzipping the back and stepping into it, for fear of staining it. With a few delicate tugs, her garment was fastened and her breasts secured.

"I don't think that's true," Bonnie said, pulling Elena's focus from her own reflection.

Bonnie's green eyes were locked on Elena ringing heavily with disapproval. Over the years Bonnie had been witness to a number of their power struggles. She knew that Elena was being cruel on purpose.

"You and Damon were really cute together the other night," Bonnie cooed, playing angel to Elena's devil.

"Exactly," Elena said, "Kittens are cute. Chaste."

"Why are you being like this?" Bonnie pressed, nodding to Caroline. "Stop upsetting her."

The blonde was sitting next to Bonnie on the bed, now in her sequined mini dress. Elena couldn't see her face, but from her friend's slouched posture that Caroline was in her head. Most likely going over everything Damon ever said to her.

Elena shrugged, channeling her inner bitch as she left her bathroom. "I'm just being honest. Care is single. She should be on the prowl. I'm just saying, if you want to mess around with older boys, mess around. Clearly, Damon doesn't want to. Maybe he's just flattered by your school girl crush. You're telling me last night was the third time you guys hung out and he didn't try anything? What do you guys even talk about?"

"He's only ever held my hand," Caroline said hesitantly. "We talk about random stuff…I thought we were flirty. But it could all totally just be strictly friendly banter..."

Elena knew that Care was a true type-A personality. Right now her friend was going through every conversation, trying to pick apart the nuisances of Damon's every word and action. It would only take a few more under the cuff comments to get the results she wanted, Bonnie playing mediator wouldn't make a difference.

"School girl crush," Caroline echoed, nibbling on her bottom lip and then laughed humorlessly.

Elena had her.

"Boy likes girl, girl likes boy. Sex. At least some heavy petting."

"Elena!" Bonnie chided. "What is wrong with you?"

"Are you sleeping with Stefan?" Caroline gasped at the same time.

"Stefan and I are just having fun," she said. They weren't, not really. The younger Salvatore wasn't so bad when they spent one on one time together, but half of her pretend relationship with Stefan involved him ignoring her sometimes while listening to classic Bon Jovi. "I'm not trying to get to know him or anything."

Elena crossed into her bedroom and went to the closet for her heels. She slipped on a pair of black sling-backs and turned to her friends. Just as she suspected, Caroline was looking defeated.

"Maybe you're right," Caroline muttered looking up at friends.

Her deep blue eyes were wide with tears she never allowed to fall.

"I've probably been reading too much into Damon. He's so much older than me. You know he told me that he was going to be engaged once," she continued. "Engaged? I'm in high school. I'm not mature enough for that. I shouldn't be stressing over some guy. Some man. I need to be having fun. I'm single and hot and I should be making out with boys who want to make out with me, not pining after someone like I'm in a Bronte novel."

Caroline suddenly sprang up from the bed and strutted to a mirror. She carefully studied her visage.

She looked beautiful, Elena thought. Caroline wore a strapless dress as well. The bodice sequins were bronze and silver, placed in an Art Deco pattern and the cream colored fabric skirt fell elegantly on the tops of her thighs.

Elena glanced at Bonnie, who was still pissed at her.

"I don't know what you're doing, but I hope you're proud of yourself," Bonnie whispered harshly.

"Forget him, I'm so over my own drama," Caroline declared, not hearing Bonnie. "Let's just go to this damn party."

[-0-]

When the Salvatore's moved from their original estate in the early nineteen hundreds into their Tudor-style manor, the Lockwood's felt that they were being out done. Instead of simply adding modern innovations into their large antebellum estate, the late Thomas Lockwood decided to gut his old family home and build an even grander one. Like the Lockwood's their mansion was ostentatious with a dash of class.

Damon and Stefan stood outside in a ridiculously long line waiting to be received by the Mayor and his wife at the front door. As vampires, they needed to be invited in by the current owners.

"You hid the crystal here?" Damon muttered under his breath so only his brother would hear.

Stefan nodded. "I didn't want it to get lost or stolen at the boarding house."

"So you hid it someone else's house?"

His little brother rolled his eyes. "There is a method to my madness, brother," he sighed. "Don't worry, it's still there. I'm sure of it."

"Where's your girl?" Stefan asked, changing the subject.

Damon frowned. He had planned to pick Caroline up, but she texted him last minute saying that it just made more sense to go with her girlfriends.

"Where's yours?" Damon countered. "What's the deal with you and Elena by the way?"

His little brother scoffed. "I hang out with the cheerleader to make sure she keeps her mouth shut about us. That's it."

Step by step they made their way closer to the Lockwood family. All most all of Mystic Falls was here on the large front lawn in their semi-formal attire.

"I don't think she'll tell," Damon said thoughtfully. "You should let her off the hook."

Everyday Stefan fed the Gilbert girl his blood, using it as insurance that if she blew the whistle, he'd turn her. Damon couldn't deny Stefan's brilliance, but he did feel a little bad for the kid.

"Never you mind about Elena," Stefan told him. "Finally."

At last they'd reached the steps of the massive front porch. The brothers walked up the limestone stairs and passed a set of thick, stark white Doric columns. Standing in front of the open door was a brunette trio of two men with similar olive coloring and a skeletal socialite with large, blue, cat-like eyes.

"Mayor Lockwood," Damon greeted. "Great to see you again."

Damon and the mayor shook hands. "Damon," the man said, warmly. Damon could smell a faint hint of scotch on his breath. "Wonderful to see you again, my boy. Welcome. This is my wife, Carol."

He looked over at the wife, who was eyeing him in a way that was less than socially acceptable.

"Mrs. Lockwood," Damon crooned while placing a kiss on her outstretched hand. "It's so nice to meet a woman with such impeccable taste. Thank you for the welcoming basket."

"Please, call me Carol; you're welcome Damon," She purred, still sounding less than socially acceptable.

"What's up, Stefan," Tyler said, throwing his mother a 'what-the-fuck' face.

Stefan nodded to his classmate. "Tyler. Nice digs."

"Why don't you two head inside," the Mayor suggested in a falsely charming voice. "Enjoy the party."

Damon gave the Lockwood's one last look before walking to the front door.

"Well, if things go south with Caroline, you might have a chance with Cougartown," Stefan joked.

The older Salvatore gave his brother a wry smile. "I don't know what's more disturbing: that you actually consider that an option or that you know what Cougartown is."

The brothers crossed through the invisible barrier of the threshold as Stefan shrugged innocently and Damon laughed.

"Well," Stefan exhaled, grabbing a flute of champagne from a waiter's tray. "I've got an artifact to collect. Wish me luck."

Damon watched his brother's retreating form weaving through the crowd. You wouldn't have known, what with all the people still waiting to get in, but the Founder's Party was in full swing. Guests littered the vast foyer looking at the artwork that the Lockwood family had inherited over the years. Some, but not all of the pieces had been taken from the homes of the vampires back in the 1860s. The Lockwood family profited greatly from the eradication of the vampires back in the day. All of the Founding Families had.

Following Stefan's lead, Damon made his way further into the mansion.

"This would be so much more fun if I was drunk."

A slow smile appeared on Damon's face when he picked up on Caroline's voice.

He found her easily in the countryside that was the Lockwood's backyard. Several trees had been placed as a perimeter for the main entertaining area. White lights were suspended in the tree branches and when the sun eventually set, they would create a nice ambiance. There were several chairs and tables set out, each lined with white linen near the entrance to a garden. Some people were taking advantage of the mixology bars while others were on clamoring around the DJ booth, waiting to dance.

Caroline and her friends were standing in a pack on the edge of the hardwood dance floor, each looking uncharacteristically unapproachable.

"Ladies," Damon said when he reached them.

He was rewarded with a cautious grin from Elena and a sympathetic one from Bonnie.

"Hey, Damon," they said in tandem.

Dark brows furrowed. "Caroline."

The blonde gave him a tightlipped smile. "Hi."

Alright, Damon thought, trying to decipher the reason for her cold greeting.

"Nice suit Damon," Bonnie said.

He looked down at his black jacket and haphazard button down. It was a far cry from what he wore to the first Founder's Party, but he still looked good.

"Thanks," he said. "Dig the dress."

Bonnie smiled at the compliment. He was being honest. The three-quarter sleeved lace dress and a high, sleek pony-tail worked for her.

"You look great too, Elena," Damon added.

The brunette rolled her curls between her fingers. "Oh, this old thing?" She asked in jest.

The three of them made uncomfortable small talk while Caroline occasionally sneered at their comments.

"Can I talk to you?" Damon pressed. Not bothering to wait for a reply, he pulled her to the dance floor. Thankfully, the song was slow so he had an excuse to hold her against him.

"I don't appreciate being man-handled," Caroline snapped.

Damon's blue eyes clouded in confusion. "Is there a reason you're being a brat right now?"

Her mouth opened to counter, but he cut off again. "What's the problem Angel Face?"

Caroline bit her lip, her eyes burning. "You. You're my problem."

He pulled a face. Damon didn't speak teenage girl. "You're going to have to elaborate."

"I don't understand you Damon," she whispered. "I don't understand what we're doing."

She looked at him, with her big, impossibly blue eyes waiting for him to speak.

Again he came up empty.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" She muttered. "You're such a guy."

He could see the anger flaring behind her eyes again as she stiffened in his arms. "I feel like I've been imagining our time together one way and it's actually been completely the opposite. Do you even like me? Or am I just some form of amusement?"

"Nothing about this conversation is amusing to me," he said flatly.

She pulled herself from his grasp and rested her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you kiss me last night?"

That's what this was all about?

Damon closed his eyes recalling their encounter.

After they had dinner at The Grill, Damon and Caroline were sitting cozily in his car trying to agree on a radio station…

"Pearl Jam," Caroline giggled, turning the dial. "Seriously?"

As a vampire he had excellent reflexes, so it didn't bother Damon to turn his head and smirk at her while driving. "One day you'll realize that Taylor Swift isn't real music and on that day you'll thank me."

"I will not apologize for enjoying catchy music," she said, holding her nose up at him. "Watch the road, you snob."

He smirked incredulously, but obeyed her. At a stop light he turned the dial once more, groaning when an eighties song blared through his speakers. He had his hand at the ready to change the station when Caroline objected.

"No, I like this song."

The light turned green and Damon tapped lightly on the gas pedal. It was Jackson Browne's Somebody's Baby.

"You know this song?" He asked. It was an obscure pop song that came out a decade or so before she was even born.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Caroline nod. He glanced at her, pleased by the sweet smile on her face.

"My dad used to have this hideous boom-box that he kept in the kitchen," she said. "Seriously, it was just so retro and awkwardly shaped… when he'd cook, which was most nights, he'd play this one tape to death. And this song was on it. We used to sing this together."

They drove the rest of the way in relative silence while Caroline sang softly to herself. Periodically, he'd watch her. She was leaning her head against the window, watching the road speed by. The smile had turned lopsided with a twinge of sadness. No doubt she was thinking of her father.

All too soon, Damon pulled up in front of Meredith's apartment complex. He cut the engine and turned to face Caroline, angling his body toward her. The soft light of the streetlight cast a glow over the girl and for a moment Damon was taken by the sight of her.

"What?" Caroline whispered.

"You," Damon said simply.

He reached out and rested his palm against Caroline's cheek. Her eyes closed and she smiled gently leaning into his touch. Instinctively, Damon leaned closer so that he was in Caroline's personal space. Softly, Caroline exhaled while Damon greedily inhaled her scent. It was befitting of her, elegant vanilla and quirky citrus, but there was something else – jasmine? Damon moved his hand to her hair while his nose grazed the side of her jaw and neck.

Caroline wet her pink lips as the energy in the car tensed.

He listened to her blood pumping through her veins, her poor heart was pulsing like rapid gun fire.

She gasped as Damon placed a kiss in the hollow of her throat and then slowly up to her the corner of her lips. "Damon," she sighed his name like a prayer.

The sound of his name on her lips brought Damon's vampire features to the surface. Their mouths were so close and yet he was stuck. Watching her. She looked like an angel. A creature from his former life, representing everything he had desired as a young man taunting him now in his undead existence. He wanted Caroline so much that he couldn't stand it. To kiss her plump bottom lip, claim her glorious body; anything and everything all night. But was it right? Dragging her into his darkness?

Damon sighed and pulled back and suppressed his demonic black veins and blood shot eyes.

"Good night, Caroline."

Dazed, the blond opened her eyes slowly, unsure that she'd heard him. She watched Damon expectantly for a moment only to deflate when she realized that he was dismissing her.

He waited till Caroline was safely inside before he drove back to the Boarding House.

"It's fine Damon," Caroline said, pulling him from his reverie.

She had transitioned from her queen bee posture to wrapping her arms protectively around her torso.

"We hung out a few times and had some nice talks, but that's all," Caroline shrugged. "I understand. No hard feelings."

"Caroline –," Damon started.

She dismissed him with a vigorous shaking of her head. "Mr. Gilbert is flagging us, I think he's trying to get me to get your attention," she said.

"Caroline."

"We can be friendly, non-friends, Damon," she said flippantly. "It's whatever… He's coming this way. You should see what he wants."

Caroline turned on her heeled feet and vanished into the mass of bodies now on the dance floor, moving further and further away from him. He couldn't believe that he had gotten the brush off from a sixteen year old.

Before he could contemplate it any further, he sensed Grayson Gilbert's approach.

"Damon," he called.

Reluctantly, Damon decided to table whatever the hell just happened with Caroline and put on a casual smile for the other man.

"Mr. Gilbert," he said. "How's it going?"

Grayson nodded cryptically. "It's been an interesting couple of days."

"Was there something that you needed?"

The man rocked back on his heels. "Yes, yes. I wanted to ask you to come with me. There is a council meeting in a few minutes if you'd like to join us."

The Founder's Council, Damon thought.

"I'll follow you."

Grayson Gilbert led Damon to a study on the second floor of the Lockwood mansion. Inside there were a trio of ladies sitting on a rococo-style sofa. One of them was Carol Lockwood, the mayor's wife, which led Damon to assume that perhaps one of the others was Mrs. Gilbert. Four men taking residence in the available seating while Mayor Lockwood and an older gentlemen with wild white hair stood coolly waiting for their clandestine symposium to begin.

"Everyone," Grayson said to the group. "This is Damon Salvatore. Founding Family member, he'll be taking over for Zach."

The room welcomed him with small waves and cordial nods and Damon saluted back.

"We don't have a lot of time," an African-American man said. "So I'll be brief then we can all go back to the party."

Grayson leaned close to Damon and whispered, "Rudy Hopkins. Sheriff." He had replaced Liz Forbes.

"Last night there was another attack. Two dead, making it a total of five fatalities not including the attack on Elena Gilbert earlier this week."

Damon saw the woman next to Carol visibly shudder at the mention of Elena. Carol squeezed the woman's knee in support and the other gave her a watery smile.

"Are you calling it Hopkins?" The man next the Mayor questioned.

He had presence that was much more than what one might expect for a senior citizen.

"Tobias Fell," Grayson muttered.

Caroline's uncle reminded Damon of a cross between Anderson Cooper and Doctor Who. Like Caroline and Meredith, he was tall. He stood at about six foot two with a strong build, making him look much younger than a man well past his fifties. Damon could see where Meredith had inherited her large eyes from, though his were a bright green instead of dark brown and Caroline had his smile. He was stylish too, he wore a fitted suit in charcoal pindot, a matching waistcoat, a white button-down and a burgundy tie.

"I believe that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls," the Sheriff confirmed.

The reactions in the study varied from voiced shock to quiet acceptance.

"What do we do?" Carol asked, looking between the Sheriff and her husband.

"I'd rather we get this taken care of before we move into the holiday season," the Mayor said, which earned a murmur of agreement from the women.

"We have the compass," Grayson Gilbert offered. "And we have the numbers to do a round up, like in the journals."

The compass was still in play? Damon remembered the night the original Founders went through the town, collecting the vampires. Jonathan Gilbert used his pocket watch to help him identify the undead. He never knew how Gilbert accomplished such an invention. If they were going to use the compass, he and Stefan were going to have to destroy it and fast.

"Do we have any suspects?" Tobias asked.

The Mayor shook his head while the Sheriff spoke. "Everyone who came before sunset is being ruled out. Vampires can't come out in the day, but we still have other avenues to explore."

Absently, Damon twirled his daylight ring around his finger. Witches, like Emily Bennett, could spell a trinket with lapis lazuli, a cool blue stone, and then the wearer could go out in the day. Thankfully, the Founder's didn't know about this.

"Zach had a large supply of vervain," Carol said. "Damon could you distribute some for us?"

"Of course," he said, giving Carol a reassuring smile. "Anything to help."

[-0-]

"Brother," Stefan greeted.

Damon was coming off the stairs and heading in his direction.

"Walk with me," he instructed.

Picking up on his brother's urgency, the two fell into an even stride as they wandered toward the back porch. Once they had found some privacy Damon debriefed him on the council meeting he'd just attended.

"That could be problematic," he said.

Damon chortled, despite himself. "No shit."

"On the plus side, I got the necklace," he announced triumphant.

Stefan had gone off and pilfered through some of the Lockwood's keepsakes in the heritage display. On his last night as a human, he had taken Emily's amulet and snuck back into the original Salvatore home. He put the locket in a secret compartment of his mother's jewelry box. It was a medium box hand crafted by his father years prior. Stefan made sure that the box had been passed down through the generations and donated to the Mystic Falls Historical society for safe keeping.

"Good," Damon said. "You'll go tonight to see the witches?"

The younger brother furrowed his eyebrows. "I think we should look for this vampire. If we catch them, then it will take the heat off of us and give our name a little more clout with the council."

Stefan tried not to look offended while Damon evaluated his suggestion. "I have good ideas too, you dick."

"You wouldn't know with your track record lately," Damon teased.

His green eyes narrowed at his brother, not impressed with his attempt at humor. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of blonde hair. He turned his head and stared at the scene.

"Speaking of track record," he said as Damon followed his line of sight.

Caroline was sitting at one of tables cozily with Matt Donovan.

"I wonder what happened there."

The two teens were sitting across from each other, conversing easily, which was surprising because Stefan had enjoyed watching Caroline retreat in the opposite direction whenever the quarter back was in her general vicinity.

"I don't know," Damon breathed. "She's upset with me. It's valid, I'll give her that. They're just talking."

He could see his brother relax when Bonnie, Elena and Tyler sat down with them, the four instantly laughing at something Tyler said.

"You want to go over there?" Stefan asked. "Show those boys up?"

Damon declined, his eyes never leaving Caroline. "We've got a vampire to find."

Stefan hummed in response. "Can we go change first? Kinda feel like a douche, tracking in a suit."

His brother laughed humorlessly. "Let's go then."

The brother left the porch and walked to their cars. Stefan could hear the familiar rumble of Damon's Camaro leaving the property as he started his own engine.

"I've been waiting for you."

Stefan jerked in surprise. It wasn't easy to sneak up on a vampire. He looked to his passenger side, recognizing the voice immediately. A woman sat in the leather bucket seats with one long, leather clad leg out on the dashboard.

"Lexie? What the hell are you doing here?"

She laughed, the joyful sound filling the small space. "You didn't see my pre-party favors? I killed people, Ripper-style. Just for you Steffy. Surprise!"

A/N: Did anyone watch TO/TVD this past week?! They are stepping it up. Am I the only one pissed at Stefan…

Earlier this week I read this Klaroline Story called Human by LoveDria and I really liked it.

Here's the summary: Klaus makes the acquaintance of a girl named Caroline in a bar. He spends the night with her but wakes up alone the next morning, although the Hybrid couldn't foresee his insatiable urge for her.

Maybe you've seen it, maybe not.

PS: Please review! It totally makes my day ;-)