"I didn't expect to see you back so soon," Stefan said as he slid off Caroline's bed. She stared at him, transfixed, as he slowly walked, no, prowled, toward her. He was wearing an outfit nearly identical to the one he'd worn last night, but this time he wore a black henley, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She could feel her heartbeat quicken as he approached her. The way he was looking at her, so desirous and tensed as if he was prepared to spring into violence at any moment, both excited and frightened her. When he finally got to her, his smile faltered and was replaced by a look of concern.
"Have you been crying?" he asked. Caroline turned her face from him, but he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
"What happened," he demanded, "was it Tyler? Did he do something to you?" Stefan's voice had grown louder as he interrogated her and by the end his fangs were almost bared and blood was starting to fill his eyes. She placed a hand on his chest to calm him.
"It was nothing, Stefan. We had a fight. He didn't do anything. I'm fine." He exhaled and she felt his body relax.
"Well, I'm sure he'll grow to regret that," he said and turned from her to walk across the room again. Caroline tilted her head in confusion as she turned to close her bedroom door, but before she could ask what he meant, Stefan's phone rang. He sat on the edge of her bed before answering. He tersely inquired, "we ready?" in lieu of a greeting. His brow furrowed at what he heard on the other end and he nodded and said, "she's coming with us," before adding, "understood," a few seconds later and then hanging up the phone.
"I take it that was Klaus?" Caroline asked.
"Yep," he replied, "he's excited to meet you and I'll take you to him, but first we've got to set up some ground rules." Caroline raised an eyebrow at this.
"Rules? About what?" she inquired.
"Start packing and I'll tell you," he replied before quickly adding, "and I'm talking a small bag, Caroline. We can buy the rest." She scowled at the implicit criticism and grabbed the large suitcase in her closet before smirking at Stefan's annoyed look and taking a large overnight bag out of the suitcase's front pocket.
"First of all," Stefan began, "you have to sever all contact with everyone in Mystic Falls." Caroline froze with a handful of socks poised over her bag and turned her face to stare at him. She probably should have expected that, but it was still a shocking thought to consider. She had spent her whole life in this town, with these people, unceremoniously leaving that all behind was a disturbing thought. Sensing her hesitation, Stefan spoke again before she could object.
"We can't have anyone following us, Caroline. I doubt Damon and Elena have been able to tear themselves away from each other long enough to search too hard for me, but people are going to notice when you disappear. Especially your mother. And she's got the resources to track you, so it has to be a clean break." Caroline considered the prospect before sighing and finally dropping the socks she had in her hand into her bag.
"Can I at least say goodbye?" she asked sadly. "At least a note or something so she won't worry that I've been kidnapped."
"That's actually a good idea," Stefan said, a little impressed. Caroline gave him an appreciative smile and resumed packing. His eyes followed her as she walked around the room gathering her possessions and she was acutely aware of his gaze. "Second," he continued, "you have to agree to let me train you."
"Train me for what?"
"Oh, this and that," he said and stood. He started making his way toward her, his eyes gliding up and down her body with the same hunger as last night. "The point is, you're going to have to learn how to be a real hunter. That means no more blood bags, no more bunnies." Caroline backed against the door of her closet as Stefan closed in on her, scared of both his words and his physical presence. He placed his hands on either she of her body and pressed himself against her. He ran a few fingers through the strands of her hair before continuing. "You'll get all your blood straight from the vein. You should consider turning off your emotions, it'll make it easier for you."
"I would never do that," she said and turned her eyes from his so she could fight the way his scent and gaze were overwhelming her. "How can you say that, Stefan?" she asked, unable to hide the hurt in her voice. "Don't you remember what you said about how much you hated yourself when you lost control? I don't believe this is who you really are." At this, she placed her right hand gently on his cheek and looked searchingly into his eyes. "The good, caring Stefan I know is in there somewhere. I can help you remember that."
Stefan stared at her for a moment and just when she thought she might have gotten through to him, he grabbed her waist, picked her up and threw her onto her bed. Before she could understand what was happening, he was on top of her. Caroline moved to push him off, but he grabbed her hands and forced them onto the pillows behind her. He leaned down and whispered, "don't move," and the look on his face was so intense, she didn't dare.
"You don't know what it's like," he said, before pushing himself up to straddle her and remove his shirt. "How thrilling it can be to give yourself over to the bloodlust." He stared down at her hungrily and ran his hands over her stomach and breasts. "I want to show you what you're missing." He took hold of her collar with both hands and tore the front of her shirt open to reveal her torso and the nude bra underneath. Caroline gasped at the tearing sound, but soon the only thing on her mind was how much she wanted his hands on her again. Stefan ran his hands up her arms and interlaced their fingers as he lay down on top of her again. He stared down at her and brushed the tip of his nose against hers to signal her to tilt her head back and give him better access to her mouth. He nearly brought his lips to hers before stopping just short. "Say you'll let me show you what it's like to be a real vampire" he whispered seductively. As if to emphasize his words, he ground his hips hard against Caroline's and she couldn't help but let slip a moan as she felt his hardness against her. "Yes," she managed to pant out before returning the gesture and grinding her hips against his.
She felt him smile against her mouth and then felt him run his tongue slowly up over the center of her lips. In the moment she opened her mouth and they crashed their lips together, the errant thought that she liked the way Stefan tasted more than Tyler snapped her back to reality. Stefan was too preoccupied to realize what she was doing and Caroline managed to throw him off of her by using as much force as she could muster. He flew across the room and crashed into her dresser, smashing it and cracking the mirror in the process. After a moment, Stefan began to move toward her again.
"Stefan stop," she yelled sitting up to pressing her back against her headboard. He froze in place and his fists balled at his sides with the effort not to touch her again. They stared at each other, their breathing slowing as the seconds ticked by. Finally, Caroline collected her thoughts enough to speak.
"Stefan, I can't do this right now," she said. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around leaving Mystic Falls and hunting people to deal with this." Stefan stared wistfully for a second longer before relaxing his body and unclenching his fists.
"Fine, but this isn't over," he replied. Change your shirt and collect your things. We should get going." Caroline cautiously stood and walked to her closet to pick another shirt as Stefan replaced his.
She stuffed a few more items in her bag before she was ready to go. Stefan grabbed the bag and headed downstairs to give her a moment. Caroline paused to look back at her room one last time and then sadly closed the door. Downstairs, she grabbed a pen and some stationary to write a farewell letter to her mother. She stared at the blank page, totally bereft of the right thing to say. How do you sum up your love for a parent? Finally, through building tears, she simply wrote:
I have to get away for awhile. I love you so much. — Caroline
Stefan stood waiting at the door. She was almost to him when she paused.
"Wait," she said and ran back into the living room. "I need to get one more thing." Stefan heard a latch open and a door swing open. When Caroline came back into the hall, she was carrying something in her hands and staring at it with reverence.
"What"s that?" Stefan asked. Caroline looked up and he saw tears in her eyes.
"It's a necklace," she replied softly. "It's been passed down in my family for years. I'd always wanted to wear it, but my Mom was so afraid I'd damage it that she kept it in our curio cabinet." She showed Stefan the piece, with its delicate blue topaz surrounded by a bed of diamonds and was shocked to see recognition wash over his face.
"Ah yes," he said fondly, "I remember that. Every time your great-grandmother wore it, everyone would comment on how the stone could never compare to her eyes." He set down her bag and took the necklace in his hands to fasten it around Caroline's neck. After doing so, he set his hands on the sides of her face, wiped away her tears and stared into her eyes. "It doesn't compare to yours either." He leaned down and gently kissed her lips. He pulled back and looked into her eyes again for a second before leaning to pick up her bag. He turned and held out his hand.
"What's next?" she asked before placing her hand in his.
"Now you meet Klaus," he said and led her through the door. She closed it behind her and didn't look back.
I hope you guys enjoyed that. I felt a little cruel for cutting the sexiness short, but hopefully you aren't too mad at me. If this writing streak continues, I'll update again soon. As always, please, please, PLEASE review.
