"So how do you feel?" Laurel asked Caroline. A few days had passed since she had started drinking her blood bags regimen and taking it slow with human interactions which meant staying away from Matt despite the urge to spend time with him.
"I'm not going to lie, it seemed difficult at first but I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it." The blonde replied as they approached the Lockwood swimming hole on one of their old properties. Invited Junior and senior students were all partying there. "Stefan wasn't happy that I accepted your help instead of his though."
Laurel rolled her eyes uncaringly as she pulled her car to a stop. "Too bad." She said as they got off and began to strip down to her swim suit whilst Caroline did the same.
"Caroline." Came Stefan's voice steeped with worry.
The pair turned to face the vampire as he approached them. His eyes lingered on Laurel momentarily before turning to face the blonde vampire. "You weren't home."
"Yes Stefan, I decided to come and enjoy the party with other people. I can't stay holed up at my home forever." Caroline responded as she tossed her clothes in the car.
Stefan didn't look too happy at that bold declaration. "I know it's a lot to ask Caroline, but I am only trying to help. Once the blood lust is gone you will be free to do anything you like, I beg you to reconsider." He said in a kind voice.
"I'm handling it fine Stefan." Caroline responded acidly. "Laurel is helping me. I've been feeding from blood bags for almost a week now and mastering my instincts. Every time I feel that the blood lust is too much when I interact with others, I leave their presence… are you telling me that's not progress?!"
Raising his hands in a placating manner and responded. "I'm just trying to help nothing more."
"And I appreciate it but I am here to have fun and not to be lectured, so if you don't mind I think I see Matt over there." Caroline said before leaving the two individuals. She had spotted Matt who stood leaning on his car as he spoke with Amy Bradley, a girl who had a deep crush on him.
"Well, she seems to trust your judgement a lot." Stefan said to Laurel who was about to head over to the lake.
Not pausing in her footsteps she responded. "What can I say Stefan, I'm a better teacher than you."
"I hope so, because if she hurts someone or worse you will be the one to live with the guilt." Stefan responded making Laurel stop and turn to face him. There was no emotion on her face to that statement.
"It seems to me as though you are speaking from experience Salvatore." She said and shifted her head to one side. Crossing her arms across the chest she spoke. "I wonder if this has anything to do with the girl you almost killed at the crowning of the new Miss Mystic Falls because you couldn't control yourself or is it perhaps your past misdeeds."
Different emotions displayed on his face before settling on anger at the knowing glint on her face. "You don't anything about me." It came out as a hiss. How dare she assume to know demons? She had no idea of how he had fought against his blood lust.
"No I don't Stefan, but I do know that vampires who refuse to feed on human blood in favour of animals ultimately fail in keeping their blood lust in check. Instead of learning how to control it, the opposite happens and before you know it, a town will have a blood crazed senseless ripper on its hands to deal with."
She snorted at the dark glare on his face. "Shouldn't you be with Elena?"
Stefan didn't reply but chose turn around and leave. Laurel had destabilized him by guessing his darkest secret. What he didn't know however was the fact that she was already aware of his dark past. Back in the 1870s rumours of a vampire who fed his way throughout the villages and blacked out in the blood haze began to circle. Laurel got his image off of a passing vampire's mind when they crossed paths.
"You know, I was surprised to learn that werewolves resided here in Mystic Falls, well non-triggered werewolves to be exact." She said shaking her head with a frown on her face.
Stefan stopped and turned around to face the girl in surprise. "You know about werewolves?" There was deep suspicion in his voice. She didn't seem to be much and yet she knew quite a lot. How was that even possible?
"Don't you?" Her brow was raised in surprise. "Honestly Stefan, from the moment you became a vampire weren't you even interested in discovering if other dark creatures existed?"
"What do you know about them?" He demanded not appreciating the look on her face that said three words.
'What a waste'
"Ask me later." Laurel said before turning around and jogging towards the lake before he could formulate a response. "Woo!" She screamed as she dived off of the edge.
…
"Caroline, Matt is one of the most loyal person I've ever met. He would never fall for Amy Bradley's charms." Laurel spoke resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her friend for snubbing the other girl.
"I know!" Caroline replied looking apologetic. Matt wasn't really pleased by the jealousy her girlfriend displayed in his presence and made sure that she knew it before walking away. "I feel awful."
"You should apologize to them both."
"Absolutely not Laurel! I'm not apologizing to Amy freaking Bradley!" Caroline declared stubbornly and took long strides away from her headed for the car with her nose in the air.
Laurel rolled her eyes this time as she followed the blond vampire. Her amplified emotions were all over the place and she needed a little space to cool off. Turning to her right she groaned tiredly at Stefan who was heading in her direction with a look of determination on his face.
Reaching her car, she pulled open the driver's door and pulled out a dry towel to wipe the water away from her body. "Stefan." She said once he had reached her.
"We need to talk." He said without fanfare. Caroline who was at the other side of the car looked at him surprised by the steely urge in his voice that she wondered what it was about.
"So talk." Laurel replied drying her hair with the towel.
"What do you know about werewolves?" He crossed his arms staring darkly.
"Just the basics Stefan. They are forced to transform during the full moon and are quite lethal." Laurel replied bringing the towel to her chest and continuing on with her task.
"That's really isn't much to go on." He responded in disappointment.
"Hey watch it!" Caroline said glaring at him in disbelief. "She told you everything you need to know."
His hand shot up to his forehead and rubbed it in frustration. "I just learned from Elena that a werewolf bite can kill a vampire. I just needed to sure that she was right."
"Well she is." Caroline responded but still wasn't thrilled at his antagonistic behaviour. "Everything you learned from Elena is the truth. Laurel told me the exact same thing so cut her some slack."
"If that's the case then we have a problem, Tyler's uncle Mason might be one." Stefan said.
"He must have a plan then." Laurel said drawing their attention. "I highly doubt that he would risk exposing himself, but in any case we should be leaving." She tossed her towel at the back and pulled out her shirt.
Stefan for the life of him didn't know what she meant. She was the most frustrating witch he had come across. He stood looking at her as she put on her clothes expecting answers only to shake his head in frustration when she got in her car and fired up the engine. Once Caroline had settled down inside, she put it in reverse and left him standing there.
Getting out of her car Laurel walked towards the front entrance of George's house. Stepping up the porch she stopped from reaching out for the door. "I've been wondering when we going to meet Miss Pierce." She muttered silently before turning around to face the female vampire that stood in the main road across the lawn whilst she observed the girl silently.
In a second she had blurred and stopped on the bottom step smirking wickedly at the witch. "Rumours of your death have been greatly exaggerated, so tell me? How is it that you were greatly affected by the Gilbert device seeing that you are not a vampire?"
"I might or just might not answer your question if you tell me why you had the tomb vampires killed, and please don't mock me by saying that it was mainly for the town's safety since we both know your careless disregard for humanity."
Her smirk shrunk a little. "Clever little girl aren't you? I can't compel you but I have other means of making you talk. Perhaps I should employ them." Without waiting for a response she blurred towards the girl only to impact an invisible barrier and came tumbling down to the steps.
Before she could even get up she felt an intense pain invade her head and fainted on the spot.
Laurel looked around the neighbourhood for any sign of witnesses and after finding none she stepped down the stairs and crouched down close to her level. Placing her hand on her shoulder they both vanished into the night.
…
Katherine woke up groaning only to discover herself lying down on dirty ground. She got up to her feet slowly trying to remember what had happened. Once she was steady she looked at the old concrete brick walls around her in puzzlement. Where the hell was she?
"I can answer that question."
She spun around in a blur veins popping underneath her eyelashes and blurred towards the girl that she quickly identified as Laurel only to hit a strong invisible barrier and fall backward on the cold dirty floor.
"Where am I?! What have you done to me you witch?!" She demanded narrowing her eyes in anger when she noticed that the girl wasn't even afraid of her. Didn't she know who she was?
"I do know who you are Katerina." Laurel said standing on the other side of the barrier, "And as for your first question, you are exactly where you should have been for the last century and a half, rotting away in the tomb."
Terror filled her mind. How was it possible that a seventeen year old girl managed to outwit her?!
Laurel chuckled. "You have no idea."
Her heart started pounding. How was she doing that? Her eyes widened slightly when a crazy thought invaded her mind. Was the girl reading her mind?
"Caught on have you?" Laurel said. "And if I can do that, just imagine what else I got from your twisted mind in your sleep?" She paused a moment for her to ponder her words and then proceeded. "Klaus? Moonstone?"
"Let's make a deal, please." Katherine begged desperately. This was bad.
"I don't make deals with my enemies Katherine." The girl spoke with a coldness that made her shiver. "You tried to kill me twice now, first with the tomb vampires and then back at my house. "No, it's your turn now."
Katherine only stared too shocked to reply as the girl turned to leave. "Wait! You can't just leave me here!" She had gotten up and stood a single step away from the barrier.
Laurel turned back around to face her. "Oh, don't worry. It's only temporary until Klaus comes here to break the curse. You will be the vampire that he uses in the sacrifice and not Caroline."
Her fear increased twofold at the smirk that appeared on the girl's face.
"Have a pleasant evening."
Katherine suddenly screamed in anger. She had deeply miscalculated. Who was this girl?
