Hey everyone...sorry for no update in foreverrrrrrrr. This chapter is exceptionally long and features Klefan and Klaroline as an apology ;) Just to clarify they are all human in this fic and it's an AU. Once again, sorry for no update but we'll try to be more punctual. Anyway, hope you all enjoy!
"Um, excuse me...?"
Klaus kept his eyes shut and turned over in bed trying to ignore the annoying voice he hoped was a figment of his imagination. It had been ages since he'd gotten a good night of rest, therefore, he cherished his sleep and refused to get up any earlier then necessary.
"Klaus? Klaus? Are you still sleeping or like dead?" He chose not to respond once again.
He heard whoever it was trying to destroy his peaceful slumber sigh before placing a hand on his arm and shaking him, "Um Klaus wake up, please, maybe?"
Klaus groaned turning back over and throwing Stefan's hand off of him. He looked up at the boy who appeared slightly nervous and surprised. Klaus also noted he was fully dressed in the dreadful Kingston uniform and it just then occurred to him that it was a school day. A quick glance at the clock on his bedside table confirmed he was most likely going to be late to classes. Again.
"I, sorry, it's just that class starts soon and you were still sleeping so I just thought that you um-"
Klaus cut off Stefan's nervous rambling with a nod, "It's fine, thanks for the wake up call mate."
He quickly got out of bed running a hand through his hair and rummaging around his room for his school supplies and homework. He glanced back to see Stefan remain awkwardly standing in the same position as he did this and shot the boy a look to which he simply averted his gaze.
"Excited for your first day?" Klaus asked with a teasing smirk as he scribbled some answers to a few unsolved maths problems.
"Excited isn't the first word that comes to mind, but as long as I survive without getting thrown in a trash can or stuffed in a locker I think I'll be okay."
Klaus chuckled softly and offered the boy a sympathetic look, "Don't worry mate it's not that dreadful here, and worse case scenario our lockers are very roomy."
Stefan offered a slight laugh followed by a sigh as he sat on the edge of Klaus' bed. Typically Klaus would complain about this, even Damon knew his bed was off limits, but he decided to cut the new boy some slack.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Within reason." Klaus replied stuffing a few more things in his backpack.
"It's about Caroline and my brother, more specifically Damon's intentions with her. Care has a bad habit of choosing the worst guys, I don't want Damon to be another guy who makes her care about him and then breaks her heart."
He wasn't sure what came over him but Klaus felt anger corse through his body as he clenched his fists at the thought of some stupid Mystic Falls boy getting close with Caroline only to break her heart in the end. The idea of Damon and Caroline together seemed to repulse him even more knowing Caroline's past of getting her heart broken and Damon's past of being a first rate heart breaker.
"What's your question?" He finally managed to get out.
After a few seconds of silence he looked over to see Stefan studying him carefully. He hoped the boy hadn't noticed his reaction to the subject of their conversation. Thankfully, after a few moments Stefan averted his gaze and continued, "Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is he may be my brother but I don't really know Damon. But you do, so can I trust him with Caroline?"
Klaus sighed not sure how to answer the question. He and Damon had an unspoken agreement to stay out of each other's relationships and he had a feeling that explaining Damon's past indiscretions to Stefan would fall under the interfering category. Then again, if he didn't say something to what extent would Damon go with Caroline? There was almost a guarantee she would wind up hurt in the end.
"When it comes down to it I would trust your brother with my life. At the same time I wouldn't trust him within five feet of my incredibly naive little sister who currently craves male attention. Does that answer your question?"
Stefan nodded slightly, "Thank you." He paused seeming conflicted before continuing, "You two are pretty close friends aren't you?"
Klaus shook his head, "Damon's not just my friend, he's family."
He watched as a sad smile appeared on Stefan's face and it was only in that moment he recalled that Stefan was a part of Damon's actual family. The family Damon had sworn off and cursed the existence of almost every day since he arrived at this school.
"That's good. I'm glad he wasn't alone here, that he found people he can consider family. That's not an easy thing to find."
"Family is not just people who we share blood with. They're the people who fight for you and the people you'd fight for. Looking at it in that perspective makes it easy to distinguish those who you can really consider family."
Stefan seemed to consider this and it was just then that Klaus noticed the time. Ten minutes to classes.
"I have to hop in the shower, you don't have to stick around." He said as he grabbed a towel and some clothes from his wardrobe.
"That's alright, I think I'll wait." Stefan replied before chuckling and adding, "I sort of have no idea where my class is."
Klaus smirked, "Right, I had a feeling Hayley's tour was less then helpful."
"It was definitely...interesting." Stefan decided.
Klaus smiled, "I'd get used to that, Kingston is a very interesting place."
Klaus emerged from the bathroom seven minutes later hearing the loud banging on his door. He walked into the room and headed straight for the closet to grab a shirt motioning for Stefan to answer the door. Stefan nodded but got up a little too fast, tripping over the forgotten baseball bat on the side of Klaus' bed. Klaus turned around noticing the action just too late and consequently he was taken down with Stefan who fell on top of him with a groan.
"Just walk in Josh he's probably still sleeping!"
"Excuse me for trying to be polite, this is totally why people say chivalry is dead."
The door burst open and Klaus looked up in time to see Josh and Davina Sinclair staring shocked at him and his roommate in their compromising position. Stefan seemed to notice this too and had enough sense to quickly move off of him with a blush and an apologetic look.
"Didn't know you were getting busy, I mean just busy, or maybe you're busy getting busy, however you prefer the word busy to be used in your activities and um- we got to go see you in Chemistry!" With that Josh grabbed the arm of his laughing little sister and quickly raced out of the room. The last thing Klaus heard before they were gone was, "I swear that was something out of one of my fantasies, this means I finally have a shot!"
"Should we bother trying to waker her?" Elena questioned.
"I'm pretty sure that'd be the equivalent of poking a sleeping angry bear with a stick." Bonnie pointed out as she looked at their roommate's sleeping figure. They had a little less then an hour before classes started and Bonnie and Elena were debating whether or not to wake up their roommate before they left for breakfast.
Elena giggled and sat down on the corner of the bed that was still currently littered with shoes. She pulled out her phone to find a long stream of messages from Caroline complaining about her morning with Hayley so far. She was slightly surprised to find no messages from Stefan yet but assumed Klaus was keeping him busy. She was about to respond to the most recent message about how unappealing the school uniforms were when she heard arguing from outside their room.
"It's not even that early yet!"
"We all know she's still sleeping."
"And she has those two new muffins with her."
"Did you just call them muffins?"
"Hey Bonnie is not a muffin!"
"Yah, she's totally a cupcake at least."
"Why are we talking about muffins again?"
"Because Kol and Kai are morons."
"We're the morons? You just called the two new girls muffins!"
"Right, my apologies the only muffin here is you."
"Ouch, burn man."
"She called me a muffin how is that even a burn? What's next am I a loaf of bread?"
"Remind me again why I hang out with you all."
Elena and Bonnie exchange a confused look before the door burst open to reveal Kol, Tatia, and two other boys Elena was yet to be introduced to. She shot Bonnie another look and noticed her roll her eyes at the sight of Kol while the boy just smirked in reply.
"Hello ladies!" One of the unnamed boys said.
"Good morning Kai." Bonnie offered a smile that Elena noticed was almost taunting. She also could have sworn it was directed more at Kol then Kai.
"It definitely is now." Kai smirked before glancing over to where Katherine was still fast asleep, "Kitty-Kat still sleeping?"
"No, she's just lying down with her eyes closed for fun." Kol replies with an eye roll.
"I don't know what she does in her free time." Kai argued.
Tatia seemed annoyed by their bantering and pushed them both aside, "Stop acting like morons." She muttered as she walked over and began to shake her sister awake.
"Don't you mean to tell them to stop acting like muffins?" Spoke the final unnamed boy with an undeniably adorable smile.
Tatia rolled her eyes at this throwing a misplaced shoe at the boy before promptly shoving her sister out of bed. Bonnie and Elena exchanged a look almost fearing what the girl's reaction would be. Katherine's eyes immediately shot open with a flaming rage radiating off of her. She looked up to find her sister standing above her with a satisfied grin. Katherine glared heavily at the girl but didn't speak a word as she stood up uneasily.
"Was that really necessary luv?" The unnamed boy questioned shooting Katherine a sympathetic look.
Tatia rolled her eyes at the boy before looking back to her twin, "Be ready in 15 and meet us for breakfast. We have things to discuss."
Katherine rolled her eyes shoving past Tatia towards her closet, "Anything else your highness?" She replied sarcastically.
"Try to wake up at a normal time like the rest of us tomorrow." Tatia began to walk towards the door and glanced back to her friends, "Are you two idiots coming?"
Kai rolled his eyes while a hint of a smirk played on Kol's lips. "That depends, Bonnie how would you like to join us?"
Bonnie immediately shook her head, "I think I'll pass."
"Oh come on, I know eating with Kol doesn't sound very pleasant but I'll be there too." Kai added causing an eye roll from Kol and a slight chuckle from Bonnie.
"Although that definitely sounds like a better arrangement, I already have plans to eat with Care and Lena." Bonnie decided.
Elena couldn't help but interject, "It's fine Bon you can go with them. Care's running late due to roommate issues and I still have some things to finish up." It wasn't exactly true but Elena didn't want her very single best friend to miss out on having breakfast with two boys that were obviously interested in her.
Bonnie sighed slightly but then nodded in agreement, "Sure then, why not."
Before she could utter another word Kol had his arm around her shoulders and was leading her towards the door, "Excellent!"
Kai seemed merely amused by this and followed behind the two while Tatia rolled her eyes muttering, "Took you two long enough." Tatia's gaze then landed on the remaining boy who was enlisted in a conversation with Katherine on the other side of the room. The girl was obviously annoyed by this and immediately voiced, "Since you two seem so cozy you can wait for her to get ready and join the rest of us when you've decided we're worthy of your time."
The boy sighed at this, "Nonsense darling we were only talking. I'd much rather prefer to go with you before the underclassmen steal all the quality food."
Tatia merely rolled her eyes before walking out the door, "15 minutes!"
"Save me a muffin!" The boy called back right as the door shut.
Katherine chuckled slightly shaking her head, "Remind me again how you handle that 24/7?"
"With lots of courage, charm, and an award winning smile." The boy replied with a smile that was certainly deserving of an award.
Katherine scoffed before gathering up her uniform."I'll be out in about 16 minutes, don't wait up or she might throw muffins at you." With that she walked over to the bathroom leaving Elena alone with the boy.
After a few moments he turned his attention to her with a small smile, "Well you're certainly quiet darling."
"I deemed it safer not to get involved." She replied simply
He chuckled softly before walking over and offering her a hand. "Wise decision, I don't think we've been properly introduced. Lucien Castle."
She spared a small smile and accepted his hand to which he promptly raised hers to his lips placing a kiss on her knuckles. She couldn't help but blush at the gesture as she spoke. "Elena Gilbert."
"Wonderful." He smirked dropping her hand before sitting across from her on Katherine's bed. "So tell me Elena Gilbert, what brings you to our lovely school?"
Elena sighed not quite sure how to answer that. "My friends and I ran into some...trouble. My friend Stefan's dad thought it was time to send him here to join his brother, Damon, and convinced my guardians to do the same."
"Ahh I see, the typical send your troubled child away to be reformed routine." He nodded as if this were nothing new.
Elena chuckled slightly, "Exactly. Did you endure the same routine?"
She watched as his demeanor stiffened before he spoke. "Not exactly. My parents died in a robbery when I was 11 and my Uncle sent me here shortly after."
Elena immediately felt a flood of sympathy for the boy who couldn't quite meet her eyes as he spoke. She knew exactly what it felt like to loose your parents and was surprised he mentioned this since she was aware it wasn't the easiest thing to talk about.
"I'm so sorry." She apologized before adding, "My parents died in a car crash last summer."
He seemed slightly surprised by this news but finally looked up to meet her gaze. She could see a deep rooted pain behind his gorgeous hazel eyes which she seemed to become lost in as they both let a comforting silence hang in the air. No words needed to be spoken because they both knew nothing they could say would change the fact they were two orphans dealing with a lost that would forever weigh on them.
After a silence that felt centuries long Lucien finally spoke. "You should warn your friend Bonnie she's in for quite a ride with those two muffins chasing after her." He spoke with a teasing tone and a hint of amusement covered the sadness in his gaze.
She couldn't help but laugh slightly and smile thankful for the topic change. "It seems so, but I think Bon can handle them."
"That'd definitely be a first. I am yet to meet a girl who can handle either Kol or Kai, certainly not both at the same time."
Elena grinned playfully. "Well you know, Bon's a cupcake so I'm sure she can manage those two muffins."
They both laughed at the reference to the earlier conversation and all traces of sadness seemed to fade out of the room. Lucien smiled widely and was about to reply when his phone went off and he reached into his pocket to see whatever was interrupting their conversation. Sure enough a message from Tatia lit up his screen asking "Where are you?!" as if she were not the one who told him to stay behind.
He looked to Elena apologetically. "Apologies darling, duty calls."
She nodded and tried to hide the slight disappointment at the fact he was leaving. Oddly enough Elena was finding she enjoyed talking to him in spite of the fact he was practically a stranger. "Of course. Maybe I'll see you around."
"You definitely will." He smirked teasingly and stood up walking over to the door. Before he left he glanced back to her. "You won't be sad forever darling. I know it sounds terribly cliche, but it gets easier. With every smile and every laugh it starts to hurt a little less."
Elena nodded knowing exactly what he meant. Lucien Castle offered her one last breath taking smile before walking away, the door slamming behind him. Elena wasn't left with much time to absorb everything that had just happened because moments later she her a piercing shout of, "WHICH ONE OF YOU IDIOTS USED ALL THE HOT WATER!"
"Excuse me?"
Stefan glanced up from his phone which was currently flooding with texts from Caroline and looked to the girl sitting in the seat next to him. She was notably pretty and had a light accent that he could tell was native. Stefan offered her a smile and waited for her to continue.
"Do you think I can borrow a pen? This one is red and I really can't stand writing in red." She explained holding up the pen she had in her hand.
Stefan chuckled slightly while raising an eyebrow. "What did the color red ever do to you?"
"Nothing in particular. I suppose you can say that I have very singular tastes." She grinned as he reached into his satchel pulling out pens of various colors.
"Well then Ms. Singular-taste would you happen to be in the mood for a blue pen, green pen, or black pen today?"
The girl narrowed her eyes at the pens pretending to think before meeting his gaze again. "Which would you suggest?"
Stefan smiled slightly. "You're not going to like my answer."
"Try me."
"Well you see, red happens to be my favorite color." Stefan explained with a playful grin as the girl laughed lightly.
"What a shame. I mean I thought you were really cute and all, but now that I know you like my least favorite color I'm definitely going to have to say no when you ask me on that date."
Stefan was a bit surprised by how forward the girl was. In Mystic Falls he rarely had to deal with the issue of girls flirting with him which made being in a secret relationship with Elena fairly easy. He ran a hand through his hair while trying to think of a proper reply, but luckily he didn't have to because at that moment Hayley walked into class and took the seat beside him.
"Closet boy! I see you've met Valerie." Hayley exclaimed with a grin.
Stefan rolled his eyes at the nickname and then looked back to Valerie. "I suppose I have. We were actually just discussing her unexplained hatred for the color red."
Hayley seemed momentarily confused by this comment but quickly shrugged it off. "Well let me know when that lovely discussion is over because I have very important matters to talk to you about."
Stefan was now the one left confused by what could possibly be so important, but before he could ask Tatia walked into the classroom with a group of three or four girls following behind her, all of them laughing at some unknown joke.
Tatia almost automatically noticed Stefan and grinned slightly saying something to her friends before walking over. Her eyes quickly surveyed the situation before landing on Valerie who already seemed to be growing annoyed by the other girl's presence.
"Valerie, I believe that's my seat." Tatia stated a fake smile plastered on her face.
"And I believe that I've sat here for the past two months making it very clearly my seat." Valerie replied nonchalantly.
The two girls glared at eachother for quite some time before Stefan cleared his throat causing them both to look to him. "You know what, I'll just go sit in the back. You can have my seat Tatia."
Before either girl could object Stefan quickly gathered his belongings and stood up making his way to the empty desk in the back of the room. The last thing he heard as he walked away was Hayley muttering, "Well you two sure know how to scare boys away."
Stefan sighed and sat down before quickly pulling out his phone. He began to type a message out in the Mystic Falls group chat but then thought against it and rather sent a message to just Caroline.
Stef: The weirdest thing just happened...
Care: Please do explain.
Stef: I think this girl named Valerie was flirting with me.
He watched the words 'Caroline is typing' appear and disappear from his screen multiple times. He was confused about why she was hesitating until her message finally came in.
Care: Since when do girls flirt with you? Are you sure she wasn't just being nice?
Stef: Girls who are just being nice don't subtly ask you on dates...
Care: What did you say her name was again?
Stef: Valerie
Care: Last name?
Stefan glanced to the front of the room at Valerie who was now absentmindedly sketching in her notebook. He had no idea what her last name was and wasn't exactly sure how to find out. He looked to the person seated beside him. The boy was on his phone as well and seemed nice enough.
"Hey um, can I ask you something?" Stefan asked causing the boy to look up and raise an eyebrow.
"Have at it mate." He replied with a thick British accent that Stefan was sure Caroline would have been amused by.
"That girl sitting in the front row third seat what's her name?"
The boy chuckled slightly as if amused by this question. "Valerie. Valerie Tulle. Why do you ask?"
Stefan tried to think of an excuse but ended up sighing and settling for the truth. "My friend Caroline wanted to know."
This seemed to catch the boys interest. "Caroline Forbes? The new girl who left Klaus Mikealson both mentally and psychically scarred. Which must make you Stefan Salvatore. Nice to meet you I'm Enzo."
Stefan looked to Enzo surprised that he knew so much about him and his friends. He hadn't exactly realized how popular they had already become.
"Well, thanks for the information Enzo. You're definitely a life saver. Caroline can be very determined when she doesn't get what she wants." Stefan decided smiling a bit.
"No problem mate." Enzo stated before glancing to Stefan's phone. "And I'd say you should get back to the allusive Caroline Forbes before she breaks your phone from all those texts."
Stefan looked down to his phone which was flooding with multiple texts varying from "STEFANNNNNN!" to "IF YOU DON'T REPLY I WILL FIND YOU AND KILL YOU!"
He sighed before typing up a quick reply.
Stef: Valerie Tulle.
Care: Took you long enough! Now I'll brb while I do...research!
Stefan ran a hand through his hair worried about what exactly 'Research' meant.
Stef: Don't do anything stupid.
Care: Wouldn't dream of it ;)
Caroline grinned looking up from her phone and to the teacher who had just begun talking to the class about their recent reading. Romeo and Juliet. Caroline didn't bother listening considering she had read the play cover to cover during her freshman year.
Instead she considered her options of finding out information on the girl who was flirting with her best friend. She never considered the thought of Stefan getting a girlfriend. In her head it seemed as though he would stay single forever and be there for her and only her. She never saw Stefan as hot or dateable and consequently figured every other girl would feel the same way. In Mystic Falls most of them did. In fact, for as long as she knew him Stefan never really even looked at a girl. But of course now that they were in this stupid school that would change.
Caroline let out a groan that was much louder than expected and half the class turned to her, including the teacher who raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry Ms. Forbes, do you not agree with my statement?"
Caroline wasn't sure how to reply considering she hadn't heard any statement to begin with but decided to take her chances. "Yes, I just so happen to disagree."
The teacher seemed a mixture of surprised and annoyed by this statement and placed her hands on her hips in a way that reminded Caroline of Ms. Koenig. "And why is that?"
"Well..." Caroline started letting her sentence trail off while doing her best to think of some way to explain her disagreement on a subject she didn't know.
"Of course the muppet would disagree with the fact that Romeo and Juliet is an accurate portrayal of love at first sight. She probably hasn't been in many relationships to begin with so she wouldn't even understand the sentiment." Klaus suddenly stated causing multiple students to laugh.
Caroline immediately looked over to him, he was sitting about two seats away and wore a smug smirk. When he noticed her looking he shot her a wink which only infuriated her more.
"For your information I have been in a relationship before. The reason that I disagree with that statement is because Shakespeare was obviously an idiot if he thought it would be realistic for Romeo to fall in love with Juliet after one look at her. All that proves is that he quote un-quote fell in love with her solely based on looks! Plus, he was totally in love with Rosaline before Juliet. That makes it pretty clear that Romeo just went after Juliet as some form of a rebound. I mean Romeo is literally suicidal over the fact that Rosaline rejected him, but he goes to some lame party, meets Juliet, makes out with her and then decides they just have to get married and be together forever. But if he really loved Juliet why would he go kill her cousin only a couple hours after they get married! There's no love there at all. Infatuation and lust maybe but not love. Love develops over time. When you go from one girl to another in the same day, neither can be love. When you marry someone the day after you meet them, that's basically just asking for tragedy. There's no love in Romeo and Juliet, just Romeo's obsession that lead to bad decisions. So yeah, I don't agree that Romeo and Juliet is a good example of love at first sight, more like an example of some whiny privileged boy needing someone to hook up with after getting rejected one too many times. Maybe you'll know something about that Nik!"
The whole class including the teacher seemed completely shocked by this, but Klaus's expression was definitely the most priceless.
Caroline smiled tauntingly at him the way he had done to her a few moments ago then looked to the teacher. "Is that good enough reasoning?"
"I suppose it is Ms. Forbes. I may not agree, but yes your reasoning will do." The teacher decided with a sigh.
Caroline smiled once again and at that moment the bell happened to ring causing everyone to immediately start picking up their belongings and head out the door. Before Caroline could grab her books Klaus was suddenly in front of her picking them up for her.
"What are you doing?" She questioned slightly annoyed as she got up and made a grab for her books which he quickly held out of her reach.
"Relax muppet, I'm just trying to help." He replied before starting to walk out of the classroom, resulting in her having to follow behind him.
"Well you weren't trying to help about five minutes ago when you said I probably haven't been in any relationships as if I'm some loser who's unable to get a boyfriend." Caroline stated bitterly as she did her best to keep up with him.
"I have no doubt that you can get a boyfriend luv." He said looking her over suggestively with a slight smirk.
Caroline scoffed shaking her head and muttering. "You're worst than Romeo."
Klaus chuckled at this statement before replying. "Look, I was only trying to help when I made that statement in class. You obviously had no idea what Ms. Fidel was talking about, I was merely trying to get the point across to you."
Caroline thought back on this situation and realized that he had in fact done exactly that. But of course she was much too prideful to admit that. Instead she reached over and snatched her books from him. "Well you could have done it without making fun of me in the process."
"Oh come on I was merely jesting." He replied with a slight smile as he watched her struggle to get a proper hold on the books.
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Well your jesting is not appreciated."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He said while his eyes scanned the hallways.
"Who are you looking for?" Caroline questioned.
"Nobody." He replied. Caroline could tell this was clearly a lie considering he was still glancing around at the many people that passed them by as if looking for one person in particular. Then as if on cue Tatia Pierce came walking down the hallway, a large grin on her face as she talked to some boy that looked like most of the football players back in Mystic Falls.
Caroline couldn't help but notice the mixture of annoyance and anger plastered across Klaus's features as he watches the two.
"Come on muppet this way." He stated, grabbing Caroline's hand and pulling her down the hallway that would most likely keep them from having to cross paths with Tatia.
"Do you avoid her like this every day?" Caroline questioned while glancing down at their hands which remained interlocked as they walked down the busy hallway towards the next class that Caroline was sure they shared considering he just so happened to be in every other class she had so far that day.
Klaus let out a barely noticeable sigh and his gaze turned cold. "I'm not avoiding anyone."
Caroline was about to argue this but realized the topic was clearly something Klaus wasn't interested in discussing. She instead decided to change the topic. "In that case, do you know a girl named Valerie Tulle?"
He immediately seemed glad for the change of topic and smiled slightly. "Yes I suppose you could say I know her. Very well in fact."
His suggestive tone left little to the imagination on how exactly he came to know Valerie so well and Caroline groaned nudging him slightly while he chuckled.
"Is there any girl in this school that you haven't slept with?" She asked slightly annoyed.
Klaus paused for a minute before glancing to her with a mischievous smirk. "Well muppet I haven't exactly slept with you...yet."
Caroline gasped slightly before scoffing and shaking her head at this comment. She did her best to seem purely annoyed but the blush rising to her cheeks clearly gave away how embarrassed she was by the comment.
"I hope you don't plan on sleeping with me because I can assure you it's never going to happen." She decided after a while.
Klaus merely continued to smile. "Whatever you say luv. Now come on, if we don't hurry up we're going to be late to class."
"Why do we even need to have swimming classes!" Caroline complained as she stormed into the locker room, Elena and Bonnie following close behind.
"According to Kol there's a river nearby. After some students drowned a few years ago they decided they needed to take precautions." Bonnie explained while glancing around for any familiar faces.
"Kol? As in Klaus's younger brother? What's up with you two?" Caroline questioned looking to her friend curiously.
"He's got a major crush on Bonnie." Elena answered, earning herself a shove from Bonnie.
"He does not! We've just been talking. If anyone has a crush on me it's probably his roommate Kai." Bonnie argued.
"Wow Bon two guys at once? What happened to Ms. 'Jeremy and I are waiting till marriage'?" Caroline teased with a grin. Elena looked around uncomfortable at this topic and Bonnie groaned.
"Can we please not discuss Jeremy right now."
"Fine, fine." Caroline said, as she walked over to a line of lockers that appeared to be empty. She quickly set her stuff down and began to pull off the ridiculous uniform blazer that she still hadn't gotten used to, while glaring at the navy blue one piece swimsuit that sat in her bag waiting to be worn.
"Are you bloody serious!" She suddenly heard the girl next to her exclaim.
Caroline glanced to her realizing that they had yet to meet. The girl had dark brown hair that was in curls down to her shoulders and striking green eyes that stood out amongst her other features.
"Everything okay?" Caroline questioned raising an eyebrow.
The girl sighed and motioned to her locker. "My locker is refusing to open again."
Caroline looked to the lock before taking a bobby pin from her bag. She had always carried a couple around knowing they could come in handy in most situations including ones like this.
"May I?" She questioned as she stepped over to the girl and took hold of the lock. The girl nodded and Caroline got to work, managing to undo the lock in mere seconds. "Tada!"
"You are a miracle worker!" The girl stated with a wide smile. "What was your name again?"
"Caroline Forbes."
"You're Caroline?" The girl asked with wide eyes.
Caroline nodded while getting back to changing out of her uniform.
"Hm. I wouldn't have expected that the girl who broke Klaus Mikaelson's nose would be quite this pretty."
Caroline smiled at this compliment as she began to unbutton her blouse which she also couldn't stand. "What can I say? I've got the brawn and the beauty."
The girl laughed at this before holding out a hand. "I'm Nora."
Caroline finished undoing the last button before accepting her hand and giving it a firm shake. "It's nice to meet you Nora."
Nora smiled in response but before she said anything else something over Caroline's shoulder caught her eye and she let out a sigh.
Caroline turned around to see a tall blonde girl who looked about ready to stab her.
"What are you doing with this thing Nora!" The blonde shouted.
Bonnie and Elena who had been silently changing this whole time glanced over concerned about the events about to play out.
Caroline on the other hand let out a sarcastic laugh. "What is it with all of you people not being able to use proper nouns. I am not a thing I am a person. You can try referring to me as such, or you know, you can use my name, Caroline, which I was just giving to your friend here."
The girl took a threatening step towards Caroline. "Well, Caroline, Nora is not my friend she's my girlfriend and I highly suggest you and your skimpy lingerie leave her alone from now on."
Caroline's eyes widened at this information and Nora shot her an apologetic look.
"Relax Mary Lou, we were just talking!" Nora stated. The blonde girl scoffed.
"I'm sure that you were." She said her tone laced with sarcasm. She then turned back to Caroline. "Stay away from us or I can assure you Klaus Mikaelson will be the least of your problems."
Before Caroline could even question why exactly everyone knew about her and Klaus's interactions, Hayley walked over and stepped between her and Mary.
"That's enough Mary Louise. Why don't you and Nora go talk out your relationship issues somewhere else?" Hayley asked, though it was definitely more of a command than a question.
Mary Louise rolled her eyes before grabbing Nora's arm and practically dragging her out of the locker room, though Nora didn't fail to give Caroline a small wave before they left.
Caroline looked to Hayley confused as to why she had just saved her from facing the wrath of the feisty blonde.
"First rule of surviving at Kingston: Stay away from Nora or you deal with Mary." Hayley stated.
"Duly noted." Caroline replied with an exasperated sigh before continuing the process of changing. "Why exactly are you offering me this late advice though? I could have sworn you hated me."
"Well as you informed me yesterday: We're roommates whether I like it or not. Plus, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Just finish up changing and then come join my friends and I by the pool. I already talked to Nik about being nicer to you."
Caroline looked to her roommate shocked by the sudden change in behavior but didn't question it further. This was one of the things she had wished for when she was told she'd be coming to Kingston. A roommate who she could at least be some form of friends with. Just because her roommate happened to be extremely rude at times didn't mean that still couldn't happen.
"Okay, sounds like a plan." She finally replied with a surprisingly not forced smile. "But where exactly is the pool?"
"The roof. Take the back staircase all the way up and go through the metal door. And do hurry, we only have four minutes." Hayley explained before sauntering off to the exit, leaving Caroline with her two friends.
"That was…" Bonnie began to say, trailing off as she closed her locker door.
"Weird." Caroline finished for her.
"Very weird." Elena agreed.
Caroline sighed as she placed all of her belongings in her locker and slammed it close. "Let's just find Stefan and get all of this over with. "
"Caroline."
"Yes Stefan?"
"Is now a good time to say I told you so?"
"Only if you want me to shove you off the roof."
Stefan sighed at this response before wrapping his towel even tighter around himself. Not too surprisingly there was no pool on the roof. Also not so surprisingly it was about 10 degrees Celsius. And the least surprising of all is that the four of them were now trapped out on the roof until somebody would find them.
"How long have we been out here?" Elena asked.
"I don't know let me just check my phone...oh wait it's in the locker room with my clothes and my dignity." Caroline replied already beginning to get irritated at their circumstances. She couldn't believe she had been so dumb as to actually believe Hayley.
"Care relax." Stefan urged causing Caroline to sigh.
"It's hard to relax when we're standing here in close to nothing freezing to death. What if we get hypothermia!" Caroline questioned, crossing her arms over her chest and pacing the lengths of the roof.
"Then we can all share one funeral and save our parents the money of planning four." Stefan pointed out.
Caroline shot him a glare to which he sighed. She continued to pace while contemplating how they could get out of this situation. The door was clearly locked and Caroline didn't happen to have any lock picking tools at the moment. She was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. She wanted to blame Hayley but she had a feeling it wasn't just her behind this. After only three days at Kingston Caroline had already assessed most of the social circles. Hayley was no leader in her group. More like the second in command. Leaving Caroline to believe that Klaus was the one who came up with this whole plan.
And to think she actually believed him the day before when he suggested they 'try to be civil'.
She bent down and picked up a pebble that had somehow found its way to the roof and threw it as hard as she could in hopes of getting some of this anger out. Klaus Mikaelson had just declared war.
"Maybe you shouldn't throw things. We're at a pretty high elevation and if that rock hit anybody it could actually cause severe damage." Bonnie suddenly objected.
"It wasn't a rock. It was a pebble." Caroline replied with a shrug before grabbing a much larger looking rock from the floor. "This is a rock."
Bonnie rolled her eyes lightly but seemed slightly amused by her friend's antics. "You're starting to sound like Ms. Koenig."
Caroline couldn't help but laugh at this. "What do you guys think, is this a sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rock?"
Stefan chuckled slightly and took the rock from her, pretending to examine it. "I'd say that it's a British rock."
The three girls laughed at this and Caroline snatched the rock back.
"Wrong! Mr. Salvatore you clearly have not been studying properly. I bet it's because you were on that strange cellular contraption. What is it that you call it? A phone?" Caroline questioned jokingly putting on a stern look as she had seen her teacher do many times.
"Oh? And what type of rock is it then?" Elena questioned raising an eyebrow.
"I believe the object Ms. Forbes is holding is actually a stone not a rock. My brother brought a surplus of them up here about two years ago. Quite surprising actually that they lasted this long. They're from a nearby river bank. We go camping there quite often during the summer. If you look closely I'm sure you'll notice quite a few carvings at the surface. Niklaus is quite big on art and took an interest in using pieces of nature for his artistic projects quite a while ago."
Caroline was completely surprised by this revelation. So surprised that she didn't quite take in the fact that Elijah Mikaelson was actually standing there, leaning against the door which was locked mere seconds ago.
"I thought a stone and a rock were the same thing." Bonnie commented.
Elijah laughed slightly and adjusted his jacket before beginning to explain the differences between a rock and a stone. Caroline didn't bother listening and rather looked closely at the stone in her hand, wiping off some of the dirt on it with the corner of her towel. She could faintly see carvings etched into the stone.
K.M. + T.P.
It took her a good minute to realize what this meant. Klaus Mikaelson plus Tatia Pierce. She frowned at this before tossing the stone over the edge of the building cringing slightly when she heard the sound of it hitting something hard and metal only to hear a loud car alarm moments later.
Elijah's rock/stone speech was cut off by this as everyone turned to Caroline with wide eyes.
"We should go. Like now!" Caroline shouted over the sound of the alarm. The others nodded in agreement and Elijah led them over to the door, pushing it open.
Push not pull. That explained a lot.
They all quickly went down the flight of stairs leading to the lobby of the school and Elijah held up a hand for them to stop. "This is far enough. Now, might I ask why you all were on the roof in this attire to begin with?"
Caroline shook her head. "That's a long story. Bon, Lena, you guys explain. Stefan come on, we have to go have a fun chat with your roommate."
Stefan sighed but followed Caroline as she began to storm down the hall.
"Ms. Forbes?" Elijah suddenly called causing Caroline to look over her shoulder at him.
"He's in the locker room at the moment. The period is nearly over. I suggest you wait until the end of classes for whatever it is you have planned."
"Thanks." Caroline replied with a nod, though she had no plans of waiting.
"Come on Nik, lighten up! It was just a joke. I'm sure Steffy and his friends will be fine." Damon stated as he pulled on his uniform shirt.
Klaus rolled his eyes at this. Damon had just informed him of his and Hayley's prank on the Mystic Falls group and he wasn't exactly pleased. The least they could have done was run the plan by him first.
As he headed towards his locker, a towel wrapped tightly around his waist, Damon trailed behind him. "Does this mean you forgive me?"
"No." He replied simply while stopping in front of his locker and trying to remember his combination which he constantly seemed to forget.
Damon sighed and leaned against the row of lockers opposite to Klaus's. "You're doing that thing where you overreact again."
"And you're doing that thing where you annoy me again." Klaus stated while finally pulling his locker open and grabbing his uniform out of it.
Before Damon had time to reply multiple complaints were heard from the other side of the locker room, most of them along the lines of, "What's she doing in here!"
Damon and Klaus exchanged a look of confusion just as Caroline came sauntering over in her bathing suit acting as if nothing at all was wrong with her being here in the boys locker room.
"Caroline what are you-" Damon began to question but Caroline held up a hand clearly motioning for him to shut up. She then turned to Klaus who stood there slightly baffled.
"We need to talk." She stated, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring slightly. Klaus couldn't help but notice how ravishing she looked in the swim suit and smirked slightly when he took notice to the fact she was suddenly staring at his bare chest.
"Now's not exactly the best time muppet. Perhaps you could try waiting outside. I'm not sure if things are different in America but here at Kingston you're not exactly allowed here." Klaus finally replied.
Caroline simply rolled her eyes. "I'm well aware of the rules and as you can probably gather, I don't really care. Now, you have about five seconds to start making up some believable excuse or at least a great apology."
Klaus couldn't help but notice that just about everyone in the locker room was staring at him and the feisty blonde in curiosity. He leaned in slightly whispering, "Easy luv, you're making a scene."
She narrowed her eyes at him before shoving him. "Trust me this isn't me making a scene."
"Relax muppet." He stated glancing around again at the many eyes on them. He was trying his best to stay civil as was promised the day before but she was already beginning to test his limits. After all he had a reputation to uphold.
"No! You don't get to tell me to relax after I had to spend a good thirty minutes outside on the roof wearing only this stupid bathing suit! Not to mention it's freezing outside and now I've officially missed out on my first swim class." She replied causing him to roll his eyes slightly.
"I can assure you that you didn't miss much. Just some simple lessons on CPR." Klaus explained before pausing, a devilish smirk appearing on his face as he took a few steps closer to the blonde, "Which I can certainly catch you up on."
Caroline glared up at him, not daring to back down. "As great as that offer sounds I think I'd prefer for Damon to catch me up."
Just like that Klaus's smirk fell and he rolled his eyes, turning back to his locker and gathering his remaining items as a distraction.
"Sure thing Blondie, but for now you should probably get out of here. I'd hate for you to get into trouble." Damon said after a few moments offering her a lazy smile.
As if on cue Stefan came rushing over calling out, "Caroline we've got a code red."
Caroline groaned and turned to Klaus. "We are not done here."
He rolled his eyes slightly but nodded promptly as he watched her quickly begin to head towards the door, Stefan in tow.
"What's the problem in here?" One of the teachers suddenly questioned, coming into the locker room and causing Caroline's eyes to widen. The teacher had yet to spot her but was clearly going to in mere seconds.
Don't help her, Klaus urged himself as he watched the situation play out.
But of course he pitied the girl and grabbed her arm, quickly making his way to the back of the locker room with her following reluctantly. He headed straight for the showers, stepping into one of them with her and pulling the curtain closed.
She looked to him slightly surprised and it was only then that he noticed how close they had ended up. The showers at Kingston were quite small to begin with so the both of them being in there together left little space.
"I asked a question!" The teacher shouted.
Klaus watched as Caroline winced slightly at the teacher harsh tone, closing her eyes tightly. He reached over and gently took her hand in his. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked down at their hands and then up at him.
"Nothing's wrong Mr. Kruger." They finally heard Damon answer. "I was just trying to explain to my little bro here that there's nothing wrong with changing in front of other boys. He's very modest."
"Um yeah, what Damon said." Stefan muttered.
"Well my boy there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Mr. Kruger replied causing some slight laughter throughout the locker room.
"That's exactly what I was telling him, but you see he's gay. So it just presents a lot of issues in situations like this."
Caroline giggled slightly at this low enough that only Klaus could hear. He smiled a bit thinking that she sounded quite adorable.
"I am not gay!" Stefan objected.
"It's alright Stefan, no reason to hide the truth. The teachers here at Kingston are very accepting, right Mr. Kruger." Josh suddenly joined in. Klaus could practically envision the look on Mr. Kruger's face at this moment.
"Well um. Just inform me if there's any more issues." He muttered before his footsteps could be heard. Klaus waited until he heard the door of the locker room close before letting out a breath he had been holding in.
Mr. Kruger. German teacher who also happened to be extremely homophobic.
"You two can come out now." Damon called. Caroline began to make a move to leave but Klaus used their still entwined hands to stop her.
"Wait muppet. I just want you to know that I had nothing to do with what happened to you and your friends. In fact when I heard about it, I was quite upset." Klaus explained lowly. She seemed to contemplate this before nodding slightly.
"In that case sorry for accusing you." She replied, offering him a small smile.
"Don't worry about it, it was definitely amusing to watch you come in here. Especially in this attire. You're rather brave." He stated teasingly.
She rolled her eyes and nudged him with her elbow. "Well I'm glad I amused you."
He smiled at this before pausing. "You know I'm still waiting to hear that thank you."
"You're going to be waiting for a while then." She decided with a grin before pulling her hand away from his and pushing the curtains open.
Stefan immediately walked over and took hold of her arm, yanking her out of the shower. "You owe me one."
"Relax Stef, it's not like you had to lie to save me or anything. We all knew that you were gay already!" She replied causing Stefan to roll his eyes before looking to Klaus.
"Thanks for the help." He stated causing Klaus to shrug.
"Don't mention it mate. Now I do suggest you get out of here, all these boys in towels might start tempting you." Klaus said causing Stefan to sigh.
"Hilarious. Come on Care, let's go." He decided pulling Caroline along.
Klaus watched the two slightly amused by their friendship. He only looked away when he heard Damon whisper, "Nik. You're staring."
He rolled his eyes, shoving his friend while heading back towards his locker. "Let's just get the bloody hell out of here already."
"Right, right. We've got places to go, people to see, and girls to teach CPR to." Damon commented with a teasing smirk.
Klaus spared him another eye roll while beginning to finally change back into his school uniform. The day seemed to be going on forever and he only hoped that it would get better.
Hope you all liked it! Yes Lucien did quote Stefan (YOLO), Tatia does call people muffins, Stefan does have a bunch of girls chasing after him, Mary is a scary overprotective girlfriend, and yes, there is a difference between a stone and a rock. Sorry for any Romeo and Juliet spoilers, anyway please let us know what you think in the reviews and we'll try to update soon!
