A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the kind of late update but this chapter is exceptionally long. Thank God school is almost over we'll definitely have more time to write and update now. We want to thank you all for the feedback! For those of you waiting on our other TVD stories (OMG and The 100) we actually just started working on them again and will start posting once summer vacation starts since we'll have more time on our hands. Anyway, hope you all enjoy, don't forget to review your suggestions, thoughts, and comments!
The game was over and strong disappointment filled the air. Kingston had lost by 16 points. Klaus pulled off his helmet and looked to the bleachers. He spotted Caroline right away. She was in the middle of laughing at something that Elijah had just said. Klaus had to admit he wasn't particularly fond of Elijah and Caroline's new found friendship. They were such different people and it made absolutely no sense for the two of them to be friends.
Before Klaus could dwell on this anymore Damon came rushing over, a look of worry on his face. "Nik, we've got a code redhead!"
Klaus' eyes widened at this. "Tell me you're joking."
"I wish I was. God I told you Tristan was going to pull something!" Damon said with a groan.
Klaus shook his head with a sigh, handing Damon his helmet. "Where is she? We both know she's not going to leave without talking to me."
Damon motioned over to where Tristan stood. By his side was his sister Aurora. Klaus hated the fact she looked so stunning. The sane part of him at least recalled that her looks were nothing compared to her psychotic mind frame.
Klaus quickly grabbed Damon's arm and walked over to the DeMartels. He figured bringing backup was a good idea. As they reached the two siblings Aurora grinned widely and Tristan looked to them as if they were nothing more than the trash that was currently littering the bleachers.
"Tristan, good game." Klaus said with a forced smile.
"Yes I suppose it was for us. Your team on the other hand." Tristan replied with a smug smile.
"It's nice to see you Nik." Aurora commented.
Klaus met her gaze and nodded. "You too Aurora."
Aurora and Klaus had dated for about five months. That was before he started dating Tatia and before he realized how purely insane Aurora could be when she didn't get what she wanted.
"Is it not nice to see me?" Damon asked jokingly.
Aurora regarded him with a slight eye roll before focusing back on Klaus. "So, I heard about the new students that arrived at your school last month."
"It's actually only been two weeks since Saint Stefan and the nuns got here." Damon corrected. Klaus looked to Damon confused by the new nicknames but didn't have much time to question it before Aurora glanced to the bleachers and grinned.
"Well it appears Elijah has already gotten fairly close to one of your new arrivals. If I recall correctly Tristan and I saw them having dinner together yesterday night."
Klaus frowned slightly looking over to the bleachers where Caroline was reaching for Elijah's book while Elijah held it above his head. Both of them were laughing. Klaus wasn't even aware that Elijah knew how to laugh. And he certainly wasn't aware that the two had gone out for dinner yesterday.
"Oh don't worry about that particular new arrival she's all mine. Which means you totally still have your chance with Elijah, Tristan." Damon said. Klaus wasn't sure which was worst, the fact that Damon and Caroline were still dating or the fact that Damon had actually just referred to her as if she was his property.
"I have no interest in Elijah." Tristan bit out, though the blush on his face said otherwise.
"Sure you don't, and your sister is totally over Nik." Damon replied sarcastically.
"Damon." Klaus said in a warning tone.
"It's fine Nik, we all know how I feel about you." Aurora reassured.
Klaus sighed. He did not want to be doing this today. In fact he really had hoped to never see Aurora again after the break up.
"Well you know, I'm allergic to awkward situations," Damon started faking a cough, "so I'm just going to go. Nik, walk me to the nurse."
Klaus sighed but nodded, sparing Aurora one last polite smile before walking away from the siblings.
Bonnie glanced down at her phone as she waited in line at the concession stands. Ditching the game to continuing hanging out with Enzo was not a good idea considering that Caroline was currently spamming her phone with 'WHERE ARE YOU' texts. Bonnie was sure that if she explained to her friend that she was hanging out in her dorm with a hot boy Caroline would forgive fairly quickly.
"There's my girl!"
Bonnie groaned at the all too familiar voice. "What do you want Kol?"
Kol approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. "I just wanted to talk about your poor choice in men."
Bonnie attempted to shove Kol off of her but it did no good so she rather sighed. "What are you talking about Kol?"
"You're going to homecoming with Enzo."
It was a mixture of a statement and a question. Bonnie was quite frankly shocked that Kol knew about this considering she had only agreed to go to homecoming with Enzo about an hour ago.
"Yes I am." Bonnie said slowly before turning around to face Kol, throwing his arms off of her in the process. "How did you know that?"
"The walls are very thin here at Kingston darling." Kol explained with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"You eavesdropped on me!" Bonnie asked in a mixture of shock and annoyance.
"That's besides the point. Why are you going with Enzo?"
"I don't owe you an explanation Kol."
Kol let out a sigh shaking his head. "I just don't get it."
"What's there not to get?" Bonnie asked, stepping forward as the line moved up.
"What makes Enzo any better than me?"
Bonnie could hear the slightest bit of hurt in Kol's voice so she sighed slightly. "It's not like that Kol. I'm going with Enzo because he asked me first."
"You're Bonnie Bennett. You deserve much better than the first boy that throws himself at you."
"And what makes you so much more worthy of me?" Bonnie questioned. Before Kol could reply the owner of the concession stand called her forward to order.
Kol sighed as she put in her order. "Look, just forget it. Have fun with Enzo, but please," he paused taking the time to pay for her food before continuing "save me a dance."
"Hey, there you are!" Caroline exclaimed as Damon exited the locker room. He turned to her and flashed her one of his signature smiles.
"Hey Carebear. What'd you think of the game?" He questioned leaning against the lockers.
"It was...interesting." Caroline decided unable to think of any other adjectives aside from: Boring, weird, football is so much better.
"That's one way to describe it. Anyway, have you seen Kitty Kat?"
Caroline sighed at the question. Ever since she became friends with Katherine-which in turn meant ever since she started dating Damon-all Damon wanted to talk about was her. Caroline knew he had feelings for Katherine. Just about anybody with half a brain knew. But did he really have to make it so obvious?
"She was talking with some guy named Mason from Willow Academy." Caroline finally explained. Damon frowned but nodded.
"Alright, thanks Blondie."
He gave her a quick peck before running off to go fulfill his duty of stalking Katherine. Caroline ran a hand through her hair and leaned her head against the lockers. Why couldn't she be enough for Damon? Better yet why the hell was she still with a guy that couldn't care less about her? She figured that it was out of pride. If she broke up with Damon Stefan would never let her hear the end of it because he had warned her off of his brother multiple times. And then there was Klaus.
Caroline would never admit it, but she liked it when Klaus saw her with Damon. She liked the way that he glared at somebody who was supposed to be his best friend. She liked how he tensed up when she would whisper things in Damon's ear. She loved the way that Klaus made her feel wanted without saying a single word.
"What are you doing here muppet?"
Speak of the devil.
"Just thinking." Caroline decided.
"Well you should go get ready for the party that's happening tonight. Starts in about an hour" Klaus suggested.
Caroline noticed how cute he looked in his simple jeans and t-shirt. He had clearly just finished showering given the way his wet curls fell into his face. She had to focus hard on not reaching over and pushing his hair away so that she could get a better view of his eyes as he spoke.
"Oh right. Walk me to my dorm?" She finally stated. He nodded promptly and the two of them began walking side by side.
"Your team sucks by the way." Caroline commented. He rolled his eyes playfully and nudged her.
"Shut it muppet. We just slipped up. In all fairness Willow academy is one of the best rugby teams in the country." Klaus pointed out.
"They seem like a bunch of nerds, definitely not as hot as our players." Caroline decided, recalling the players from Willow who looked more like they belonged to the chess club than a sports team.
"So you think our players are hot, huh?" Klaus questioned with a slight smirk to which Caroline rolled her eyes blushing slightly.
"Well all of them except you." She corrected, which was an absolute lie of course. Caroline was pretty sure that Klaus was actually the hottest boy on the team.
"You're a terrible liar muppet."
As they reached her dorm they both paused in front of the door. It was a comfortable silence so Caroline leaned against the wall, looking to Klaus in thought.
"Can I ask you something?" She questioned.
Klaus nodded cautiously. "I suppose so."
"Do you think me being with Damon is a good idea?"
She could see how uncomfortable Klaus became at the topic. He looked down to the floor, then to her, then glanced to some students passing by, then looked back to the door.
"I don't think it's my place to answer." He finally decided.
Caroline sighed. "Klaus please, you know him better than anyone. Just...help me out here. Do you think I should break up with him?"
Klaus shook his head. "Perhaps you should talk to Stefan about this, or maybe even my brother. You two have grown quite close."
"And why can't I talk to you about this?" Caroline asked growing slightly annoyed.
"Because Caroline, you and I are not friends. If my actual friend, Damon, wants to use you, just another girl that's insecure enough for him to seduce in 5 seconds so that he can get what he wants and be done with you, why should I interfere? I never have before."
Caroline barely had a chance to think of her actions. The only thought running through her head was getting him to shut up.
She raised her hand back and then threw it forward as hard as she could, whipping it across Klaus' face. The crack of skin contacting skin echoed off the walls. He stared at her with his eyes wide as his hand slowly made its way to his fire red cheek.
She should've felt some kind of remorse. But she didn't. Not one part of her could produce guilt for her actions. A triumphant grin spread across Caroline's face and with a flick of her hair she turned to her door, opening it, walking into the room, and slamming it closed behind her.
The only thought racing through her head was: I just slapped Klaus Mikaelson.
"Do we seriously have to go to this party?" Lucien asked as he and Tatia walked across the sports field, heading towards the woods where they'd find the cabin in which the party was being thrown.
"Yes. Relax, I'm sure you'll see your new girlfriend there." Tatia replied teasingly. Most girlfriends would be concerned when their boyfriend started spending all his time with a new girl. But Tatia couldn't care less and Lucien knew it. Their relationship was something simply based on quick hook ups and a person to go to school dances with. It made sense considering how their relationship started off to begin with.
Plus, Lucien may have been crushing on Elena but Tatia already had her eye set on one of the other new arrivals.
"I don't have a new girlfriend." Lucien replied with a slight eye roll before smirking playfully. "Yet."
Tatia grinned nudging him before pausing. "Did you hear that?"
Lucien stopped in his tracks and Tatia listened carefully. She could hear the distant sound of giggles. She grabbed Lucien's arm and pulled him towards the bleachers where the sound was coming from. She stopped when she could get a decent look.
Stefan and Elena stood behind the bleachers, kissing in a way that quite frankly made Tatia want to throw up. She quickly pulled Lucien away from this site, not saying anything as they continued walking towards the woods.
"Since when are they together?" Tatia finally questioned.
"They're not. As far as I knew they were supposed to be just friends." Lucien explained, seemingly disappointed. Tatia considered this.
"Well it seems as though your precious Elena is engaged in a very secret relationship with Stefan."
Lucien nodded. "I suppose so."
Tatia grinned. "Which means, it's really not your fault if you continue in your advances towards Elena. I mean as far as you know she's single and just waiting for the right guy to sweep her off her feet."
Lucien seemed to notice where this was headed. "Are you suggesting that I get Elena to cheat on Stefan, which will in turn ruin their precious relationship?"
"And what if I am?"
Lucien smirked, throwing his arm around Tatia's shoulders as they walked. "Well then I'd tell you that as far as I know Elena is single and I just want to be the right guy to sweep her off her feet."
Klaus took another sip of his drink as he leaned against the wall. The party was already full blast. The cabin belonged to Mr. Saltzman, everybody's favorite teacher. The alcohol was also supplied by Ric who already had everyone sworn to secrecy. Some may have considered him to be a terrible role model, or perhaps some creep who should be arrested. But in Klaus' eyes Alaric was doing something smart. Since kids were going to be drinking anyway he let it happen under his watch. He was looking out for everybody while still appearing as the cool adult that kids trusted, and considering that there was yet to be any accidents, Alaric's system was pretty good.
Though it definitely was an amusing system at that. Klaus watched as Alaric participated in a heated game of beer pong, and better yet he was winning. His eyes then landed on Damon and Caroline who were in the middle of a very intense makeout session on the couch. Klaus' hand went to his cheek remembering the way she had slapped him.
He had deserved it. What he said was out of line and he regretted it the minute the words were out. Something about the blonde always took away every ounce of common sense he had. Especially when it came down to her and Damon.
Part of it had to do with the fact he was Damon's friend. He couldn't say anything to Damon about Caroline because it was just something him and Damon didn't do. He certainly couldn't tell Damon that he thought he was being a complete jerk with Caroline and that he should leave her be.
And so he let all of his jealousy and annoyance out on Caroline. She was an easy target. Especially earlier that day when she had made herself so vulnerable. She looked to him with pure desperation. She honestly wanted Klaus' advice, and rather than giving it to her he had lashed out. Now thanks to that he had angered Caroline and she was acting out by practically going at it with Damon in the middle of the room. Not to mention the dress she was wearing was much too short to keep him from staring.
Klaus glared slightly at the pair as he downed the rest of his drink, throwing the empty cup at the potted plant in the corner.
"Ouch, what did that plant ever do to you?"
Klaus turned to see Katherine standing behind him with an amused smile. She wore a simple black dress and, as usual, a pair of heels were on her feet. He recalled just two years ago, at the beginning of ninth grade, when he used to taunt her over the fact that no pair of heels would ever make her taller than him. This resulted in her saving up all her money to buy a pair of 5 inch heels.
She succeeded in being taller than him, but considering that she broke her ankle that same night her attempts failed. He still remembered visiting her in the hospital. He stayed with her overnight, and they stayed up watching reruns of Friends on the small hospital TV against the nurse's wishes.
"Katherine. How nice of you to grace me with your presence." Klaus finally replied, casting his gaze away from her and back to Damon and Caroline.
"They make such a cute couple." Katherine commented. He knew who she was talking about right away and rolled his eyes.
"We both know he loves you, not her. She's merely a distraction. As her friend perhaps you should advise Caroline to break up with him."
"Aww wouldn't you like that. Because it would make so much more sense for you to break her heart than for Damon to do it right?"
The bitterness in Katherine's tone surprised Klaus and he let out a sigh. He still couldn't quite grasp what had happened between them. Once upon a time Klaus was closer to Katherine then he was with his whole family. But oh how times had changed.
Part of it he blamed on himself. After his breakup with Tatia he blamed her. He lashed out at her because she was related to Tatia. He knew she would side with her sister so he pushed her away before she got the chance to push him away. Sometimes he considered what he did to be a mistake. Maybe he should have given her the chance to pick him rather than forcing her onto her sister's side.
But there was also a part of this that was her fault. Because the real issues with them didn't quite start after his break up. They started when he and Tatia began dating. It was at that point she began to snap at him more, yelling at him for just about anything. She no longer found old jokes funny. Most of the time she would dodge his texts and calls. He began to see her less and less until he could almost assume she was avoiding him.
"What do you want Katherine?" He questioned, already wanting this conversation to be done.
Katherine stayed quiet for a moment, seemingly in thought, before replying. "Do you remember the first party we came to here?"
He turned to her and saw a slight smile playing on her lips. Of course he remembered:
It was the summer before ninth grade. Katherine and Klaus walked into the party, eyes widening at the scene before them. Alcohol was just about everywhere and there were actual strobe lights flickering around the room in a way that was almost blinding.
"This is…" Katherine began.
"Crazy." Klaus finished for her as he looked around the room.
"Who invited you to this again?" Katherine asked, carefully stepping into the room and tugging down her dress which Klaus insisted she had to wear in order to properly fit in with the upperclassmen. After all it was rare anyone their age got invited to parties at Alaric Saltzman's cabin.
"Remember Damon Salvatore?"
The name was obviously familiar. Everyone at Kingston had at least heard of Damon Salvatore. Katherine herself had only held a few conversations with him, and those had been ages ago. She couldn't even recall having seen him in years and could only vaguely remember his mesmerizing blue eyes.
"Since when are you and Damon friends?" Katherine asked.
"We're not, but he invited Elijah and insisted you and I come along." Klaus explained before adding, "And just because Elijah is too busy reading books doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy our very first party at Kingston."
Katherine grinned. "I suppose you've got a point there. But I still don't see why this terrible outfit is necessary."
"Because you look incredible in it." Klaus replied with a slight smile as he looked her over. Katherine's blush was barely noticeable in the flashing lights but Klaus still managed to catch it.
"Look, there he is." Katherine commented before Klaus could tease her more. He followed her gaze to Alaric Saltzman who was doing what appeared to be Jell-O shots with a group of kids.
Alaric had taught Klaus and Katherine in the third grade, and they still had many fond memories of him, so seeing the teacher in the middle of downing any form of an alcoholic drink was way too weird.
Katherine's gaze landed on the boy next to Alaric. She knew it was Damon just by the vibe he gave off. As if he knew that he was the absolute star of the party despite the fact he was only a year older than her and Klaus. Damon must have somehow noticed her staring in the midst of all the partying because his eyes soon met hers. A smile formed on his face and he whispered something to Alaric before walking over to her and Klaus.
"You guys made it!" Damon exclaimed, although Katherine couldn't help but notice that his eyes were focused completely on her.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Klaus replied. He then seemed to notice what Katherine already had and a small smirk appeared on his face. "I'm going to go grab a drink, i'll find you later Katherine."
Katherine glared heavily at Klaus who chuckled before running off towards a table in the far back of the room.
"I'm glad you're here." Damon commented leaning against the wall. He was acting casual but he seemed almost...nervous?
"Why? I mean I was pretty sure you would have forgotten me by now." Katherine replied.
"What makes you say that?" Damon asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well I completely forgot about you until yesterday night when Nik told me about this dumb party."
"Ouch." Damon said, a smile finding its way onto his face. "The Kitty has claws."
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you get back to your friends? They seem to be missing your incredibly annoying presence over there."
"I'd much rather talk to you." He replied.
Katherine scoffed. "Look, I'm really not interested. If you're looking for an easy hookup I'm sure my sister is lurking around here somewhere."
Damon's features softened and he shook his head. "Hey, I have no interest in hooking up with you. I mean, I do, because you're absolutely mesmerizing, but I'm not over here talking to you because of that. I just...I want to get to know you."
And so Katherine spent most of the night rolling her eyes at Damon's stupid pick-up lines and even ended up sparing him a dance or two. But what really held her attention the whole night was her sister. Her sister who was laughing with Klaus. Her sister who was touching Klaus at every opportunity she got. Her sister who two months later managed to lure Klaus into the trap that would forever change things at Kingston.
"Come on closet boy! Don't tell me you don't like dancing!"
Stefan sighed uneasily, pulling out of Hayley's grip. Considering the large amount of alcohol she had consumed he was pretty sure there was yet to be a word in the English language to describe how drunk she was.
"I don't dance." Stefan argued simply.
Hayley groaned exaggeratedly. "This isn't High School Musical! Of course you dance, everyone with feet can dance."
Stefan shook his head wanting desperately to escape the roaring music and blaring lights of the party as well as the wasted girl who refused to let him leave the dance floor. He glanced around the room to see Bonnie looking rather annoyed while talking with Kai Parker. He spotted Caroline, who was engaging in a heated make out session with his brother, which caused him to roll his eyes. He then noticed Elena was dancing wildly with a group of guys who seemed rather pleased with her obviously intoxicated state. Stefan sighed, his girlfriend was a terrible drunk.
"Stefannnnn! Dance, now!" Hayley ordered, yanking on his arm and pulling him back on the dance floor yet again.
Stefan groaned, contemplating what excuse would get him out of this situation, before something behind Hayley caught his eye.
"I would love to dance with you Hayley, but don't you think it'd be wrong for the two of us to dance when poor Klaus is over there with no one to dance with?"
Hayley gasped as if the thought of such a thing was outrageous and turned around to see Klaus and Katherine having a conversation in the corner of the room. Neither of them looked in the dancing mood, although Stefan was sure Hayley was about to change that.
"You're right!" Hayley concluded, releasing his arm. "But I expect that dance from you later closet boy."
Stefan shook his head slightly at the nickname but offered her a smile, "Alright we'll see."
This answer seemed to satisfy Hayley who immediately ran off screaming Klaus' name, urging him to dance with her. Stefan couldn't help but feel slightly bad for his roommate, but considering Klaus and Hayley were friends Stefan assumed it wasn't the first time this scenario had played out.
After he was positive Klaus had Hayley distracted Stefan decided he needed a break from all the madness of the party. He considered stepping outside but decided against this when a glance out the window confirmed it was raining. He ultimately found himself traveling upstairs, finding an empty room and immediately closing the door shut. He could still hear the blasting music from the party, but the sound was at least less deafening now. Glancing around the room he realized it probably belonged to Alaric. Hopefully nobody would find him being in his teacher's room suspicious. He decided not to worry about that though. It was worth the risk if it meant escaping the craziness of the drunken Kingston girls and their terrible taste in music.
With a sigh of relief he sat down on the bed happy to finally find some peace.
But of course Stefan's peace only lasted a few moments before Tatia walked out of the bathroom, which was connected to the room, looking to Stefan slightly surprised.
"Oh hey, what are you doing in here?" She questioned in curiosity.
Stefan looked to her, still shocked by the resemblance she held to his girlfriend. "I was just hoping to escape the madness of the party."
Tatia nodded in understanding as she leaned against the wall. "Where's Elena?" She asked before pausing and quickly adding, "and Bonnie and Caroline. Your friends, where are your friends?"
"Well, Elena is probably dancing on some form of a tabletop right now, Bonnie is being flirted with by your cousin, and Caroline is in the middle of making out with my brother."
Scrunching up her face in disgust Tatia replied, "Are those two really still together?"
Stefan sighed. "Sadly yes."
"I have no idea what she could possibly see in Damon." Tatia commented, making her way to the bed and sitting down next to Stefan.
He shook his head. "It's pretty ridiculous. I thought Caroline would know better. My brother is clearly only after one thing."
"Yeah, most of the guys here at Kingston are only after that one thing. You should make sure your friends learn that now."
Stefan looked to Tatia. "I don't understand how all the guys at this school could be so superficial. Relationships are about a lot more than just an easy hook up. I mean in Mystic Falls the jerks would at least buy the girls dinner before trying to get into their pants."
Tatia seemed to consider this before shrugging slightly. "I suppose the guys here prefer to be more blunt about it. They're interested in sex and most of the girls here know that. It's a shared knowledge and a relationship that's beneficial for both parties as long as you keep desire separated from actual feelings."
"Is that how your relationship with Lucien works?"
Stefan wasn't sure where the question came from, but Tatia didn't seem bothered by it considering the grin that formed on her face.
"You're such a quick learner." She exclaimed teasingly. She then paused adding more seriously. "Lucien and I are friends with benefits I suppose. The term 'dating' is really just for show."
Stefan nodded, not sure what to think of this, but luckily he didn't have to consider it long before the door burst open to reveal Caroline holding a bottle of tequila.
"Stefan, we're playing truth or dare!" She announced, casually ignoring Tatia's presence.
Stefan sighed slightly. "Caroline is that really a good idea? Remember what happened last time?"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Relax Steffy, you're so paranoid."
She walked over and handed him the bottle. "I suggest you loosen up while I go gather the others."
"Others?"
A few moments later and Caroline had gathered Elijah, Elena, Bonnie, Kai, Katherine and Klaus into the room. Not to mention that a computer in the corner of the room featured Tyler and Matt over facetime.
"Okay, who's first!" Caroline questioned from her spot on the bed next to Damon.
Klaus, who was on the other side of her, sighed. "Must we play this game?"
"Yes Nik, we must." Damon replied before adding. "I'll start! Katherine truth or dare?"
Katherine rolled her eyes as if expecting this while Caroline frowned, once again noting the way Damon easily chose Katherine no matter what the situation.
"Dare." Katherine decided after a significant amount of time.
Damon smirked as if hoping for this. "I dare you to perform a 30 second strip tease."
Kai groaned. "Seriously dude, I would prefer not to watch my cousin strip."
Damon chuckled. "Oh come on Kai, I doubt it's the first time. Haven't you been to Tatia's strip club before?"
Tatia glared slightly at Damon, flinging a pillow at his head which he easily dodged.
Elijah sighed doing his best to focus on his book.
"I swear this is the same dare you give me every time we play this stupid game." Katherine commented.
In reply Damon grabbed his phone and turned on some cheap club music. "Start stripping Kitty Kat."
One strip tease and a very disgusted Kai later and Katherine was left wearing nothing but her under garments.
"I swear I'm going to throw up." Kai commented, being the first in the room to speak after Katherine had finished her small debut.
"That was totally hot." Damon countered causing Katherine to roll her eyes.
"Glad you enjoyed it because it's never happening again." She replied. Elijah shook his head, seemingly frazzled by the performance, as he pulled off his suit jacket and offered it to Katherine. She gladly accepted it, pulling it on and wrapping her arms around herself as she took a seat next to Elijah.
"Alright, Kai truth or dare?" Katherine asked, looking towards said boy who was currently attempting to place his arm around Bonnie who continuously shoved him away.
"Dare." Kai replied as if it were obvious.
"I dare you to kiss Damon." Katherine decided, causing both Kai and Damon to groan.
"Oh come on Kat! Don't be like that." Kai said, but Katherine just grinned in response. With a sigh Kai stood, leaving a very amused Bonnie behind, as he made his way over to Damon.
The two looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before Klaus chuckled, "Just get it over with."
With one last groan Kai leaned over and pulled Damon into a quick kiss that caused the room to burst into laughter. After a few seconds Damon shoved Kai away and dramatically wiped at his lips. "Ew."
Caroline grinned. "I don't know Damon, you seemed to enjoy that."
Damon rolled his eyes and nudged her. "Hey, there can only be one gay Salvatore, and Stefan already has that spot filled."
Stefan sighed. "Thanks brother."
"Anytime." Damon replied with a playful wink, "Now come on Kai, we don't have all day."
Kai rolled his eyes slightly but glanced around the room before landing his gaze on Tatia. "Tatia, truth or dare?"
Tatia seemed to consider this. "Considering I don't trust you, I think i'll go with truth."
"If you could have one more night with any of your exes which one would you pick?"
Caroline noticed Klaus tense up beside her at this question, but she said nothing knowing this was something between him and Tatia. Plus, he had already assured Caroline that his feelings for Tatia were gone.
Without thought Tatia replies. "Arthur Chamberlain."
"Bloody hell." Klaus blurted out with an eye roll. "You dated him for a week and a half."
Tatia shrugged. "He was a good kisser."
"So is Klaus!" Damon argued, causing everyone in the room to look to him and Klaus questioningly.
"Yep. I'm the gay Salvatore." Stefan commented sarcastically which resulted in Caroline flinging an empty cup at him.
"He's just joking Stefan. Right Damon?" She said, looking to Damon who in turn looked to Klaus who cleared his throat before announcing that Tatia needed to go.
"Gladly." Tatia replied. "Stefan, truth or dare?"
Stefan glanced up from his phone surprised. "Um, truth."
"Have you ever had romantic feelings for one of your friends?"
The question left Stefan slightly flustered and in the most unnoticeable way he glanced to Elena, who was much too drunk for her own good considering that she was explaining to Tyler and Matt what happened during their past few weeks at Kingston. This would be normal if it weren't for the fact that her explanation involved a story about how Donald Trump built a wall to trap them in the school and then Stefan got beat up by a scary ninja assassin when they managed to escape.
"Ew! As if Stefan would ever get it into his delusional mind that he's allowed to have romantic feelings for me." Caroline commented with a scoff, causing Stefan to roll his eyes.
"I have standards Caroline." He replied teasingly before looking to Tatia. "No, I've never had romantic feelings for any of my friends."
Tatia nodded, although she clearly noted the lie. Stefan was just glad that Elena was too distracted to notice the events that were occurring.
"Care truth or-"
"Dare." Caroline replied cutting him off. This wasn't a surprise considering that Stefan was pretty sure Caroline had never turned down a dare in her life.
Stefan thought for a moment before grinning. "I dare you to call Ms. Koenig."
At this Bonnie and Elena burst into laughter, and Tyler and Matt seemed to hear this too because they in turn joined in.
"Nice one Stef! Ms. Koenig has been missing Caroline so much." Tyler commented. The Kingston group looked around confused.
"Who is Ms. Koenig?" Damon asked.
"Our old science teacher, aka the reason we even ended up here." Caroline explained.
"And who the hell are they?" Katherine added, motioning to the laptop that nobody seemed to notice until now.
"Oh I'm Tyler."
"And I'm Matt."
"They're Tyler and Matt." Caroline clarified.
"Caroline's ex boyfriends." Bonnie added resulting in Caroline groaning.
"Bon!"
Bonnie giggled. "Sorry, just thought I'd share more information."
"I'm barely her ex boyfriend. I mean I was forced into that relationship." Tyler decided.
Klaus, who still seemed to be processing this, rolled his eyes. "Can we please get on with the game?"
Matt leaned in closer to the camera, filling the screen. "Who said that?"
Tyler shoved Matt to the side. "I don't know, all these British people sound the same."
With another eye roll Klaus replied. "Klaus Mikaelson. Stefan's roommate."
"Oh." Matt commented before saying more suggestively. "Ohhh."
"He's that one." Tyler stated, him and Matt exchanging a knowing look.
"So Mr. Mikaelson, you and Stefan are 'roommates' and you and Caroline are 'friends'." Tyler questioned, air quotes and all.
"I suppose you could say that, yes." Klaus replied.
"But like by roommates do you mean roommates or 'roommates' and by friends do you mean friends or 'friends'?" Matt asked.
"Caroline, tell your exes to shut it." Klaus ordered, causing Caroline to shake her head.
"Ty, if you speak again i'll tell your mom what happened at last year's Christmas party. And Matt...just shut up."
Tyler seemed to consider this before shrugging. "My mom found out already while you were gone. So anyway, Klaus has Caroline informed you about all the dreams she's been having, and about how badly she wants you to take her to your room and-"
Before Tyler could finish Caroline jumped over Damon and ran over to the computer, slamming it shut.
"Just ignore him he's um just being Tyler." She rambled, her face bright red.
Klaus smirked fairly amused by this. "I'm sure that's it. So what exactly do you want me to do to you in my room?"
Elijah, who pitied Caroline, saved her from having to answer the question by pointing out that it was getting late and that she should call Ms. Koenig now.
Caroline nodded liking this idea and paused before grabbing Klaus' phone from the night stand.
"Muppet what are you doing?"
Caroline shrugged sitting back down on the edge of the bed. "Ms. Koenig already knows my number, this isn't the first time I've called. Password?"
Klaus shook his head, grabbing the phone and putting his password in. Caroline watched as he did this then raised an eyebrow.
"10-10-04." She recited as he handed her the phone, causing Klaus to frown having not noticed her watching. "What's the significance of that?"
His screensaver was an image of some art piece, and Caroline smiled at how organized all his apps were. She then noticed he was yet to reply and looked to him questioningly. He sighed slightly.
"My younger brother's birthday."
"Kol?" Caroline asked, not having thought that Klaus and Kol were that close.
"Henrik." Elijah said lowly.
"I didn't-" Caroline began, but Katherine cut her off.
"Caroline." She stated, shooting her a look that clearly said Don't question it.
Caroline nodded before looking back to the phone and beginning to dial Ms. Koenig's phone, glancing to her contacts to gain the number.
"Well that's my birthday too." Caroline explained matter of factly as she hit call and put the phone on speaker.
Klaus and Elijah both smiled slightly at this comment.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end of the line was clearly annoyed and Caroline covered her mouth to suppress her giggles.
"Yes, this is Matilda Pettigrew from Liverpool, England." Caroline finally stated in a fake British accent that caused everyone to hold back their laughter.
"Well Ms. Pettigrew, I think you may have the wrong number."
"I do not believe so, is this Rosanne Koenig?"
"Yes this is she. How did you kn-"
"Well this is the UK space agency. We are hosting a top secret escapade to space in which we were hoping you'd be willing to accompany us on. We've looked over your résumé and your knowledge of the sciences is absolutely outstanding. We really would be honored to have you on that space shuttle with us."
By now Bonnie was laughing into Kai's shoulder, something which he certainly didn't mind, and Elena was only being kept silent by Stefan's hand which he held over her mouth.
"Oh wow I, wow, this is a huge honor, but I don't know if I'm exactly fit for a space escapade."
"Of course you are! Like I said, your records have been looked over and you are one of the best applicants we've seen." Caroline decided. her smile wide as she tried not to laugh.
"I didn't apply for this space escapade-"
"Yes you did Miss, your application is sitting right in front of me at the moment."
There was a pause before Ms. Koenig replied.
"Well I suppose this is an offer I can't turn down."
Caroline grinned. "Excellent! Now we just need to ask you a few questions before we can hire you for this."
"Alright…"
"What is the difference between a rock and a stone?"
Caroline looked to Elijah as she asked this and he smiled slightly.
"I don't recall there being much of a notable difference…"
"Huh. Interesting. Alright next question. Are you aware of the meaning of the term 'Lol'?"
"Um yes, I suppose it is what the kids are using lately. Laugh out loud or something silly like that."
"Okay okay… And last question. Have you engaged in any sexual activity in this past week?"
With this Stefan broke out into a fit of laughter and once he cracked so did everybody else in the room including Caroline.
"What-wait what's going on? What's all that laughter about?"
Caroline tried to recover and cleared her throat. "It seems as though there's an issue in the station. One of our space shuttles just crashed! I'm gonna have to call you back miss. Oh no! Mr. Mikaelson! Mr. Mikaelson, oh dear! There is blood everywhere."
And with that Caroline hung up the phone, breaking into a fit of giggles and leaning against Klaus' shoulder in doing so. "She didn't even realize it was me this time!"
Stefan chuckled. "I'm sure that it had something to do with your great British accent."
"I don't know Care, I think you may need to get some British accent lessons from Nik." Katherine commented with a light laugh.
"Klaus not Nik." Klaus corrected, though his tone was teasing as he casually placed his arm around Caroline's shoulder. She didn't object to this as she handed him back his phone and glanced around the room.
"Elijah, truth or dare?"
Elijah sighed placing his book down. "Miss Forbes, I would prefer not to engage in this game."
"Oh come on Elijah. You love this game!" Damon commented teasingly.
With an eye roll Elijah replied. "Dare."
Caroline grinned. "I dare you to do a body shot off of Elena."
Elena glanced up hearing her name, and being too drunk to know any better grinned widely. "I'm totally up for that!"
Elijah groaned knowing Caroline was set on getting him with Elena. "Miss Forbes, I really do not believe that's a good idea."
"It's a dare Lijah." Klaus pointed out with an amused smirk.
Elijah sighed pausing but eventually nodded, standing and watching as Caroline set up the necessary components. Elena let out a giggle every now and then, and Stefan frowned watching the process take place.
Once the shot of tequila was steadily placed on Elena's belly, the salt was laced across her neck, and a piece of lime was readily waiting in her mouth, Elijah completed the necessary steps without wincing. Everyone was slightly surprised. It seemed as if this wasn't the first time for Elijah.
Elena let out a laugh as she sat up. "That was awesome."
Elijah sighed and straightened his suit. "Not quite sure if I would describe it that way. Niklaus truth or dare?"
About an hour later and the game was still going.
Damon, who had been dared by Katherine to sit on Elijah's lap at some point, looked to Tatia. "Your turn Tati."
Tatia rolled her eyes at the nickname but nodded. "Forbes, truth or dare?"
"Dare." Caroline replied as expected.
Tatia seemed to think before glancing towards the clock. It was almost midnight and the game was beginning to get boring. It was definitely about time to spice things up.
"I dare you to jump into the lake wearing only your undergarments." Tatia decided.
The opposition was almost immediate.
"No absolutely not!" Klaus stated. "It's not safe."
Elijah nodded in agreement. "It's quite cold outside and a stunt like this could leave her with hypothermia."
"She can barely even swim." Stefan added.
"She'll be fine, I've done it before." Damon stated, being a great boyfriend as always.
Katherine hit Damon on the arm before looking to her sister. "Change the dare Tatia."
"Relax, you guys haven't even given Caroline the chance to make her decision. So Care, what do you say?"
"You're on."
"This is a really bad idea Caroline." Stefan commented for the billionth time as he and the others stood on the dock. Caroline held her towel close to her, wearing only the necessary clothing underneath it, and looked down at the water.
"I've done a lot worse Stef. It's really not that bad." She finally replied, shivering as a breeze brushed past them.
"I have to agree with Stefan luv, this is dangerous." Klaus said, doing his best not to focus on her attire or lack thereof.
"Miss Forbes, I beg of you not to do this." Elijah stated looking to her pleadingly.
Tatia groaned. "Just do it already!"
Caroline took a step toward the water but Katherine quickly grabbed her arm. "Caroline, don't."
Caroline sighed. "Kat I promise I'll be fine."
And with that Caroline threw the towel to the side and jumped into the ice cold water.
In the past Caroline had swam on three occasions:
1)When her and the others decided to go to the swimming hole in 8th grade. But of course they had snuck out to do this, and once her mom caught them she was banned from going there ever again.
2)At the Mystic Falls High pool in Freshman year, but after one class Caroline and Stefan made it their tradition to skip gym class and go get burgers from the Grill instead. The teacher never seemed to notice.
3)When she went to visit Bill and Stephen, who lived in California with Stephen's stupid family. They had a pool and Stephen's son thought it'd be nice to push her into it.
So she wasn't quite prepared for the rush of water that covered her from head to toe. The freezing cold water which encompassed her skin didn't help.
She forced her eyes open, blinking a few times before squinting into the water, looking up and seeing the silhouette of the dock above her. She began her best attempt to swim towards the surface, but it was only in that moment that she noticed the pain that shot through her leg. Glancing down she saw that her foot was tangled in some form of reeds. But that wasn't the only problem considering that her leg was bleeding. She finally noticed the cause of the bleeding. Glass from what must have been broken beer bottles that Kingston students had carelessly thrown into the lake.
This is so not good.
When you're in a situation in which you're trapped under water and slowly running out of breath they tell you not to panic.
Well it's a lot harder to follow said rule when you actually find yourself in the situation for real.
She began to struggle, pulling at her leg trying to free it from the tangle of reeds. She opened her mouth to scream, not realizing what a terrible decision this was until her lungs began to burn.
I'm going to die.
"She's been down there a long time." Bonnie stated nervously as they all stared down at the water.
"I'm sure she's fine." Kai reassured her.
"Yeah she's probably just trying to mess with us." Elena decided, slowly beginning to sober up.
"Maybe one of us should like get in just in case." Stefan pointed out.
"It's fine Stefan, relax." Damon replied.
A few seconds later and Stefan's nerves were officially too much to handle. "I'm going in."
Elena grabbed his arm. "Stefan no, you can't swim."
"Neither can she!" He replied, pulling his arm away.
"Mate it's fine, i'll go in." Klaus stated, though as he looked to the water he didn't make any advances towards it, seemingly frozen in place.
"If one of you doesn't get in the water right now I'm going in." Katherine announced.
While they all continued to argue over who was going in Elijah promptly dived into the lake, nobody noticing until the large splash of water left them splattered with droplets.
"Did he just..?" Tatia asked staring in shock.
"He did." Kai replied.
Elijah strained his eyes to see through the dark water. He managed to catch sight of Caroline's blonde hair and quickly swam towards her.
He did his best to remain calm but the panic kicked in when he saw that she was unconscious. And then he noticed her cut up leg and the reeds which kept it stuck to the lake floor.
He reached into his pocket, carefully pulling out a pocket knife in which he had begun carrying around with him ever since an incident that had occurred with Willow academy in previous years. It was for self defense of course but more in the defense of his siblings than himself really.
He got to work cutting at the reeds with the knife, careful not to pierce her skin but also working quickly, already beginning to feel the burn in his lungs. As he cut the last reed he wrapped his arm around Caroline's waist and used his free hand to swim up to the surface.
He gasped for air as he swam towards the shore which was only a bit away from the dock. The others having seen his journey quickly ran to meet him. Stefan being in the lead ran into the water, helping Elijah to carry Caroline out.
"Oh my god." Stefan muttered, his eyes beginning to fill with tears at the sight of his best friend not moving and looking fairly lifeless.
As the others made it over they gasped, each of them shocked.
"Is she-is she dead?" Katherine stuttered.
Elijah shook his head getting onto his knees beside the girl and feeling for a pulse. It was there but barely.
"She's still alive."
A sigh of relief escaped Stefan. "Do any of you know how to do CPR?"
Everyone in the group exchanged looks. Damon shook his head. "Nik and I were just joking when we talked about knowing how to do that, we never payed much attention in class."
"Somebody just save her!" Bonnie exclaimed, holding onto Elena as both girls looked to their unconscious friend in a panic.
Elijah having had some form of experience with CPR, due to the fact that he actually did pay attention during his junior year swimming lessons, began to perform CPR on her, his worry rising when she was still yet to respond after each try. But finally after the fifth or sixth time her eyes fluttered open and she began to cough up water. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Caroline, thank goodness!" Stefan said, pulling her into a tight hug. "Are you okay?"
It was a stupid question but Caroline offered him a slight nod as she tried to regain her composure. She had nearly died. And who had saved her…?
It took her a minute to recognize it was Elijah due to his soaked attire. She mouthed a Thank You to him over Stefan's shoulder and he replied with a light smile.
As Stefan pulled away from Caroline, looking her over to make sure she was okay, an awkward silence filled the air. Kai was the one who finally broke it.
"Well that was fun! Who says we go snag some cookies from the cafeteria now!"
"Are you positive you're okay Miss Forbes?" Elijah asked for what must have been the billionth time. Caroline had just finished showering and now sat on her bed in a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt. Elijah had insisted on walking her back to her dorm, and considering nobody else intercepted Caroline had let him.
After that he decided it'd be best for him to wait for her while she showered, just to be sure everything really was alright and to check over her injuries.
Caroline initially thought this was some ploy for him to spend time with Hayley, but it wasn't until later that she recalled that Hayley had announced earlier in the party something about spending the night with Jackson.
"I'm fine Elijah, really." Caroline replied, resting her head against a pillow.
Elijah shook his head taking a seat on the edge of the bed and motioning to her leg. "If I may?"
She nodded and he carefully turned her leg over sighing at the sight of all the scrapes and cuts. One was particularly deep and worried him. "Perhaps you should go to the nurse. It'd be best to get that bandaged."
Caroline glanced to her leg and then to him. "It's not necessary. It's really fine, the bleeding already stopped. And trust me this isn't the first time I've gotten hurt. Believe it or not my only worry right now is that I'm going to have to get a new dress for homecoming next week. The one I bought last week is short and I don't think that showing off these cuts will do me any good."
Elijah shook his head. "I'm sure you'd still look amazing Miss Forbes, but if it will calm your worries I can take you to the shopping center tomorrow night and you can get a new dress."
Caroline smiled brightly. "That sounds perfect. Thanks Elijah."
He smiled back nodding. "Of course, it's truly no issue."
"But really..thanks. For everything tonight." She stated and before she knew it her eyes were filling with tears.
He let out a sigh and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry this happened, but I assure you everything will be alright now."
Caroline nodded slightly as she buried her face in his shoulder. When she spoke her voice was a whisper. "How come you were the only one who was willing to jump in and save me?"
"Miss Forbes the others were quite worried and were all willing to do what was necessary, they were just too shocked by the situation to act quick enough."
She nodded again and paused before saying. "You're a good friend Elijah."
Elijah half smiled as he pulled away gently kissing her on the forehead. "As are you Miss Forbes."
"I can't believe that just happened." Katherine stated with a sigh. She, Klaus, Tatia, and Stefan sat at a table in the empty cafeteria, a platter of untouched cookies in the center.
Damon had remained at the party while Bonnie and Elena had retreated to their room after the events which had occurred, and Kai had insisted on walking them there.
"In all fairness, I didn't think she would actually jump." Tatia commented.
Stefan glared slightly at the girl. "You shouldn't have given her the stupid dare to begin with. She could have died Tatia."
"But she didn't." Tatia replied with a half grin and a shrug.
Klaus who had been silent looked to Tatia with disdain. "Tatia, I suggest you stop talking."
Tatia frowned slightly but didn't object.
"I'm just glad she's okay." Stefan finally said, reaching to the center and grabbing one of the cookies.
"Thank God for Elijah right." Katherine commented.
At this Klaus let out a sigh. "I should have been the one jumping in there to save her."
Without thinking Katherine reached across the table and took Klaus' hand in hers. "Hey, you have your reasons for not doing that Nik, it's understandable. Care would understand."
Klaus nodded slightly seeming lost in thought.
Tatia rolled her eyes at this scene. "How cute. You know it seems like just yesterday that you two were still best friends." She then paused, turning to Stefan who sat beside her. "Kat and Niklaus used to be practically attached at the hip. A bunch of people used to think they were dating. Imagine my horror when a girl in my Literature class told me that she heard some rumors about my boyfriend cheating on me with my own sister. Can you just imagine what it'd be like to love somebody and have them chose your sister over you?"
"Shut up Tatia!" Katherine said, glaring heavily at her sister.
"Why, is there an issue sis?" Tatia questioned, tilting her head to the side.
Klaus shifted awkwardly in his seat and Stefan could tell that he clearly didn't want to be here right now.
"Klaus, it's getting pretty late. I'm going to head back to our dorm. Wanna join?" He questioned standing up.
Klaus nodded quickly following in suit and getting up from his chair.
"Night Katherine, Tatia." Stefan said offering them a smile. Katherine smiled in response while Tatia grinned.
"Goodnight Stefan."
That's all for now! Hope you guys enjoyed! What do you think of Willow academy and Tristan/Aurora? Excited to see Bonnie going to homecoming with Enzo or would you prefer to see her with Kai or Kol? Thoughts on Caroline's relationship with Damon and her slapping Klaus? What about Lucien and Tatia trying to break up Stelena? Did you like the flashback? Would you like to see more flashbacks of Klaus/Damon/Kat/Hayley/ect? What'd you think of the truth or dare game? Caroline almost drowning? The fact Elijah saved her? Why do you think Klaus couldn't do it? Let us all know what you think and continue to read, favorite, follow, and review!