A/N- Here goes chapter 10... It's ridiculously long I hope you don't mind. I want to thank everyone who had voted in my polls as well as reviewed or alerted etc for this and other's of my stories as well. I absolutely love reading the feedback guys... So let me know what you think of this chapter and if you like where I'm going with this... REVIEW tc... Oh and a request to all the Caroline fan's out there, I have put up the prologue of another story (a love triangle duh!) between Caroline /Klaus/Elijah called 'obsession' but since it's a weird pairing I'm not sure if I should continue... please check it out on my profile and let me know what you all think... REVIEW tc...
Chapter 10
"So what do we do now?" Caroline asked for probably the 50th time that night, as her Katherine, Damon and Stefan sat around the parlor discussing strategy. Neither Salvatore wanted Katherine there, but Caroline insisted, she had helped them after all, the least they could do was help her back. Her question caused both and Stefan and Damon to glare at her angrily and Katherine to give her a smirk.
"We're still thinking Barbie, don't harp on us" Damon snapped
"Don't be rude to her just coz you're scared and clueless Damon" Katherine snapped back at him surprising all of them. Caroline gave her a soft smile in thanks, she was in shock and was quite happy that she was defending her. Damon just rolled his eyes and went back to drinking
"We should play a game" Katherine chirped and Stefan and Damon both groaned in disapproval
"What kind of a game" Caroline asked
"Seriously care? We're in grave danger here" Stefan asked her and earned a nod in approval from Damon
"Oh... when are we not in danger Stefan? I'm not gonna go all broody and moody just coz Klaus is coming" Caroline piped back and she swore she saw Damon smirk and Katherine gave her an impressed look
"I agree with Blondie" she said
"Only I get to call her Blondie" Damon deadpanned
"I don't mind" Caroline said and Damon threw his hands in the air
"So how about that game" Katherine asked and turned to Caroline and added "I was thinking a plain and simple drinking game" causing Caroline to squeal happily and clap her hands
"After we've reached a decision" Stefan said pointedly
"But you're agreeing to a drinking game?" Katherine asked Stefan skeptically and added when he nodded "When you did you get fun Stefan?"
"I blame her" Stefan said pointing at Caroline and she smiled in return quite proud of herself, if she could make Stefan Salvatore fun she was definitely something.
"Whatever" Damon said moodily and turned to Stefan "What do you think we should do?"
"Leave" Stefan said simply "Hiding is the only choice we have, we can't fight Klaus... been there done that" he added waving his hands through his hair as he chugged down his drink
"He will follow us" Damon said firmly "But you're right, we can't do anything else. We get caught and everything is over... we will have to cover our tracks... well"
"There are many effective ways to cover scents" Katherine said "And just not stay in one place for long"
"That's it then" Stefan said decidedly and when Damon nodded he added "We will have to compel your mother to leave care, and Matt too, somewhere Klaus can't find them"
"Ok" she replied
"And you'll have to talk to Tyler... coz he can't be..."
"I'll talk to Tyler not you Barbie" Damon said, he did not want him anywhere near Caroline
"So... yay! A vacation" Katherine said happily after a while
"What" Damon smirked "You're not coming" he said pointing at her
"What?" she asked sadly looking from one Salvatore to the other receiving the same look from both, she sighed angrily... ungrateful little jerks
"Am I coming with you?" Caroline asked the brothers meekly and they both looked at her like she was crazy
"What kind of question is that Barbie" Damon said puzzled
"We're not leaving you here Caroline, you go where we go" Stefan said firmly
"That's good I want to go with you too" she answered happily "But I want Katherine to come with us"
Katherine barked a loud 'Ha!' and smirked at the them while they groaned in unison
"Why her care? Why her?" Stefan said holding his head in his hands while Damon nodded vigorously drinking straight from the bottle
"Because I like her" she replied and Katherine actually gave her a soft smile "And I'll be the only girl there, It would be nice to have her there, and plus she's older and stronger than both of you... and she ran from Klaus for 500 years... and she helped us when she didn't have too and..."
"And she's a manipulative little slut" Damon butted angrily, he did not trust Katherine
"Was" Caroline corrected "She has been nice recently, she could have run away with that cure for you Damon... she's trying to change and everyone deserves a second chance, no one should know that better than you Damon" she added fiercely and Katherine forgot all about her bad-ass bitch attitude and got up and hugged Caroline again. Both Stefan and Damon jumped up instantly thinking the worst before they saw what Katherine was doing and their jaws were literally hitting the floor.
"I promise I'm not drunk" Katherine said as she pulled away and Caroline laughed. Katherine hadn't had anyone say anything nice about her in way too long... and Caroline was just way to adorable to not like
"Fine" Damon huffed when he saw that Caroline wasn't going to budge "But I do not trust you, and if you try anything I will kill you... comprende?" he added looking at Katherine sternly and she could tell he meant business
"Si" Katherine said happily and she felt like hugging Caroline again... truth be told she was just bored and lonely and these were the only people she knew who didn't want to rip her throat out.
"So where are we going?" Caroline asked slightly excited
"How about Italy?" Damon said and Katherine scoffed
"That's the first place he'll look Damon" she said and he couldn't help but agree with her, Klaus would know that was their native country and they would think of it first. She was indeed proving to be helpful "We need to go somewhere he won't think to follow us"
"Like" Stefan asked
"I have an idea... it's unusual but offers a lot of other advantages too" Katherine replied and raised a brow
"Well don't keep us in suspense" Damon scowled
"India" Katherine said simply and Damon and Stefan immediately nodded understanding what she meant by 'other advantages', thankfully Caroline didn't think to ask for it
"Ohhh" Caroline coed happily "It would so much of fun... it's so colorful there!"
The other three couldn't help but laugh at how cute she was. Katherine said she had some friends there and would make all the arrangements and left to make the calls. Damon followed her saying that he didn't trust her and wanted to listen to their conversation to make sure she wasn't playing them straight into Klaus's hands. He rushed after her but not before giving Stefan a stern 'behave' look, and Caroline couldn't help but smile at how protective he was.
They returned in five minutes and since Katherine was smiling, Caroline assumed that Damon had approved of her plans. They came back carrying bottles of every alcohol imaginable... Caroline was happy to see her favorite tequila.
"So how about that game..." Katherine said mischievously and Caroline nodded "But no 'I never' I've done everything... it's just not fair" she added and Caroline laughed and could have sworn she saw Damon smirk too, if Stefan would just separate his brows...
"How about truth or dare? Spinning the bottle" Caroline said
"Can't we just get wasted... do we have to play" Damon whined making a face
"Leave if you want Damon" Katherine said "But just remember at one point Caroline may have to kiss Stefan, don't you want to be here to make sure it doesn't get out of hand" she added smirking making quote marks again. Caroline turned pink and Stefan smirked shamelessly at her comment
Damon scoffed angrily but still stayed, the bitch did have a point after all
"Okay I'll start" Caroline said giddily... she already looked drunk. She spun the bottle and it landed on Damon, and she was sure she blushed "Ok truth or dare Damon"
"Dare" he shrugged "But don't ask me to kiss Stefan... or Katherine, you on the other hand..." he added wickedly
"I dare you to say one nice thing about each one of us every time you smirk" she said coyly and everyone laughed including Damon, he had to admit it was a good dare
"For how long"
"An hour" Katherine said and Damon nodded and spun the bottle and it landed on Stefan
"Dare" he said even before Damon could ask
"I dare you to wear those green tights you have" Damon said cocking a brow but careful not to smirk, Stefan shrugged unabashed and zoomed upstairs
"Stefan has green tights?" Katherine laughed as did Caroline
"Yup... got them for St. Patrick's day if I'm not wrong" Damon said smiling as Stefan came back downstairs wearing the said tights which were really... tight. Caroline had to actually look away while Katherine gawked shamelessly. Damon smirked and put his hands up when Katherine and Stefan pointed at him
"Fine... I'll say something nice about you all" Damon said though they were sure he was saying some very not nice things in his head "Barbie you always see the good in people, Katherine you may be a mean bitch, but you're a funny mean bitch and Stefan I admire your courage to wear those ridiculous things..."
"You're kidding right" Katherine said and added when Damon looked confused "He looks absolutely hot" Stefan smirked back at Damon wiggling his eyebrows
"What?" Damon exclaimed looking at Caroline who remained silent though she suddenly became nervous and kept sneaking looks at Stefan "Why?"
"Well... you know coz... you can Uhm" Caroline hesitated keeping her eyes down and he could swear her ears had gone red "Coz... just..Uh...Forget it Damon"
"What she means jealous, is that you can see all his taut flexed muscles" Katherine filled in licking her lips and Stefan smirked again... he was really enjoying this
"Whatever..." Damon said regretting his dare now "You can change now" he added looking at Stefan
"Oh no... I quite like the attention" Stefan said impishly indicating towards Caroline and Damon scowled at him. "My turn" Stefan said as he spun the bottle and it landed on Katherine and she groaned
"Dare" she said instantly
"I dare you to eat bunny blood" he said happily and she threw a death glare at him but ran out the door and into the woods and returned 10 minutes later holding a poor little bunny in her hands and bit down on it and withdrew instantly glaring at Stefan
"You have to finish Katherine" Stefan said sheepishly "Or you'll be a chicken"
She threw more profanities at him but drained the bunny and threw it away quickly before downing her shot and half the bottle along with it
"Sleep with one eye open Salvatore" she warned him and Damon couldn't help but smirk... damn it
"Aha! Compliment time smirky" Stefan said putting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair
"Fine... Barbie you're adorable when you're angry and especially when you stomp your foot like a child... or when you get happy about the smallest things, basically you're just adorable over all... not that you're just cute you're like really hot and sm..."
"Yes yes yes... we know you love her... there are other people here, now chop chop" Katherine said bored and slamming her hands on the 'chop chop'
"Bitchy you pack a mean punch and Stefie I need to hit the gym more... you've outdone me" Damon said waving towards Stefan's very much tightened crotch area. Stefan smirked again but was quite shocked that Damon would admit it, usually when they fought over a girl they were always nasty... this was not nasty Damon
"Damon" Katherine said happily as the bottle landed on him "What should I make you do" she said thoughtfully
"I go for truth" Damon said... Katherine would surely make him do something bad
"Hmmm okay then, Tell us when you realized you were in love with Caroline" Katherine said giving him a small wink, and at that moment Damon could have hugged her for giving him such an opportunity... maybe she was changing
"When Stefan was missing she said there were enough people taking care of Elena, and that my loss was greater than hers and promised to help me as long as I was willing to let her... that was the first time I saw her as anything but annoying incessant talker. She had no reason to be nice to me, when all I was was mean to her, I never had anyone care about me first" Damon said softly locking his eyes with Caroline and he could have sworn that she blushed and gave him a small smile. He mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Katherine and she squeezed her eyes in response
"Alright enough sap stuff" Damon said spinning the bottle and it finally landed on Caroline
"Truth" she said "No.. no dare" she changed suddenly knowing full well what Damon would ask and he smirked again and then groaned when everyone yelped pointing at him
"Ahhh" he said grumpily "Barbie I love you if you didn't get that from before... Katherine smart as hell... Stefan, you're my brother no matter what" he said looking at Stefan giving him a soft smile which he returned
"You can't charm me Damon... I'm still gonna fight you for it" Stefan said though Damon could tell he was touched by what he said
"I'm counting on it" Damon replied "So Barbie... dare huh... ok this is for me and my brother I dare you to make out with Katherine... for a full minute... with tongue"
Caroline smirked while Katherine snorted... men were such imbeciles
"Centuries old and you're still immature" Caroline said as she smiled and moved forward and grabbed Katherine by her hair and planted her lips on hers and they started making out full on... completely ignorant of their audience. Katherine held onto her blonde locks as well, and they could literally hear the boy's growls. Damon took out his cell and recorded a video while gaping at them like an idiot and Stefan just stared with his mouth wide open in comical 'O' shape. After the minute passed they separated their mouths and had to clear their throats for the guys to come out of their reverie
"I know why you love her Damon... she's a hell of a kisser" Katherine said wiping her mouth
"Look who's talking" Caroline giggled
"You like it" Katherine said wiggling her eyebrows and Caroline giggled again and winked at Katherine
"Please stop that I'm wearing tights" Stefan said and they all buckled in laughter
"Okay... Stefan" Caroline said happily as her spin landed on him
"Dare" Stefan said simply
"Oooooh... bite Damon" she said wickedly
"Eew... disgusting" both brother said in unison whereas the girls laughed
"Good one Blondie" Katherine said
"You had your fun, not we have ours" Caroline said
Grumpily Stefan got up from his seat and sat down next to Damon giving both the girls angry glares and bit down on his brother's neck and pulled away after a few seconds and went back to his seat and drank like a fish out of water...
"Hot" Caroline said licking her lips and Katherine nodded whereas Damon seemed completely unaffected
"Damon" Stefan said as he spun the bottle and it landed on him
"Da-truth" Damon changed mid-sentence he hoped Stefan would ask something about Caroline
"Why aren't you being mean and a complete jerk taking into light our current situation" Stefan asked seriously and he could see Caroline tense up and even Katherine looked interested
"Because... with Katherine and Elena it was all about getting one up one you... or not letting you have what I wanted. But with Caroline I just want her to be happy, I wish it's me that does that for her but if she's happier with you then I won't spoil it" Damon whispered and Caroline couldn't control her tears anymore "No crying Barbie... it's supposed to be a good thing"
She laughed as she wiped her tears, and felt the reassuring hand of Katherine on her thigh and she smiled at her. At that moment, Damon truly believed that Katherine had changed, because she didn't look jealous one bit and was genuinely trying to be a friend to Caroline. Even Stefan smiled at the integrity of his brother, this was a different Damon one who wasn't all about what he wanted... and he was the closest to the human Damon he remembered. And at that moment he was thankful to Caroline for bringing this out in Damon
Damon smirked at the mushy feely environment around him, everyone noticed but no one said anything and that just made him like them more. He spun the bottle and it landed on Katherine and he smiled
"I want you and Blondie to exchange clothes in front of us" he said and the girls laughed and looked at each other "But no taking off underwear" he added suddenly, he definitely wanted to see Caroline naked but he did not want Stefan to see that...
"You're such a perv Damon... what have you not been laid in a long time, you keep asking us to do all this" Katherine said as she removed her jacket to reveal a silk emerald green dress as Caroline removed her red shorts and her white tank top.
"Hell yeah!" Damon exclaimed "Oh god I think I haven't been laid for 7 months" he added miserably and everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at Damon wide eyed. Katherine had Caroline's top halfway down when she stopped and Caroline just held onto her dress and Stefan stopped gawking at the girls to look at his brother
"What... why are you looking at me like that" Damon said confused
"You don't ever not sleep around for so long" Stefan said
"Ahh.. There were a lot of things going apart from me wanting to shag someone"
"I don't believe you" Katherine said finally getting the top through her and working on the shorts
"My brother went camping with an indestructible psychopath, which made me realize that I actually cared about the little jerk, then I had to deal with the guilt of destroying his relationship with Elena when I realized that I only wanted her to piss him off and then I was trying to deny that I felt anything for Barbie and then when I accepted it I was wallowing coz I was sure she would never feel the same and somehow I thought if I stopped sleeping around it might help to get in her good side" he concluded
"Are you serious Damon" Caroline asked still in her underwear but she couldn't care less at the moment
"Yes... I didn't think you would like the whore Damon" he chuckled
"Uhmm Blondie don't insult my dress it cost a fortune... put it on" Katherine said as she sat back down and Caroline blinked again to stop her tears... she couldn't believe Damon had done that for her
They played for another couple of hours and did some pretty crazy dares. Stefan and Damon had to exchange clothes too thanks to Katherine and they had all fed off of each other, and kissed each other. Damon and Stefan had both had to put on make-up and the girls had to wear the boys' clothes too... though Stefan and Damon both thought they looked hot in their clothes. Damon had to drink bunny blood too thanks to Stefan and in return Stefan had to tell an embarrassing story of his childhood. By the end of their they were all hammered and decided it was best they go to sleep since they had a flight to New Delhi the next afternoon.
"Caroline what you doing here?" Damon asked as he came out of his bathroom to see Caroline sitting on his bed, she looked she had been crying and her hands were folded in her lap though she gave him a small smile when he came out. In any other scenario he would have made fun of her sneaking a glance at his abs, but he could tell she was in a serious mood.
"I wanted to talk to you about something" she said timidly as she got up and moved closer to him
"Anything" he said softly and had to resist the urge to plant a big on her, she looked delectable all shy and flustered
"Are you sorry for the way you treated me when I was human" she asked in a barely there whisper and he knew she didn't want anyone else to hear it
"You'll never know how sorry I am" he said truthfully. That's why he knew she could never feel the same for him, he had been a monster to her and couldn't believe the number of times he had tried to kill her, he winced at the thought
"Why don't you ask me to forgive then" she said with a smile
"I can't Caroline" he said simply
"But you are sorry right" she said skeptically
"The most I'll ever be next to everything I have done to Stefan, but I won't ask Caroline because you never should forgive me... I wanted to deliberately hurt you and it kills me now" he hung his head in shame
"Let me decide that..." she whispered and added when he didn't say anything "Ask me to forgive you Damon" she picked up his face by his chin and looked into his eyes
"Will you forgive me Caroline" Damon whispered
"Yes" she said happily and he looked shocked at how easy it was for her "But on one condition" she added pouting
"What"
"You have to call me Barbie again... It makes me feel special"
"Okay Barbie" he smirked back at her... she really was something else "You shouldn't forgive me you know"
"Are you patronizing me now" she said putting her hands on her hips and looked at him with a threatening glint, and it took all his resistance to not jump her bones then and there
"No" he said softly
"Good" she said shrugging her shoulder and moved forward and before he realized it, she grazed her lips by his. It wasn't passionate and filled with heat and lust as he always imagined it would be, but it was soft and supple and tender and it was the first ever sweet and simple kiss of Damon's life, for the first time he didn't want to pull her into bed and ravish her. He wanted to make her feel special and make love, not hump her brains out. He didn't even try to put his tongue through and at that moment any doubt he had vanished, he was in love with this girl like he had never been before, and he would not fuck it up. He knew by the way she kissed him that she really had forgiven him, and he was going to be worth her kindness. She gave him her classic dazzling smile and practically skipped out of the room leaving behind a shell shocked yet incredibly happy Damon
"Don't even think about it Stefan" Katherine said slowly walking up to Stefan on the porch
"Think about what?"
"You know what... you will not give yourself over to Klaus to protect Damon. You know we'll come after you"
"I wasn't planning on doing that" he laughed, the fact that Katherine said 'we' was not lost on him. "I know you'll come after me which doesn't really serve the purpose of giving myself up now does it" he added with a smirk
"Good" she said and turned to leave
"But that doesn't mean I won't bargain for Damon using myself. If Klaus finds us I'll give myself up to him forever so Damon can be free. I'm a ripper I deserve this cursed life, Damon doesn't... not when he's finally working towards the better."
"You are such a martyr you idiot" Katherine snapped at him angrily and he could sense the concern in her tone, he laughed and turned to face her... a part of his heart would always belong to this woman
"I can see that you're trying to be a friend to Caroline, Katherine and I admire that about you"
"She's hard not to like" Katherine said shrugging her shoulders
"I need you to protect her" he said suddenly "If Klaus finds us, I'll try to save Damon but you have get Caroline away... you're the only who's strong enough to protect her against him"
"I will" she said determinedly "For you. But you never know what might happen in India Stefan" she added the glint of mischief back in her eye
"You have a plan don't you?" he asked surprised he didn't think of it before
"Why do you think I chose India?" she said and Stefan nodded. He knew India was one of the last places in the world where witchcraft and the supernatural wasn't just a legend or a scary story, people not only believed but also respected the mysterious powers. It was a safe haven especially for witches... many people even believed witches originated in India.
"What's your plan then" he asked her
"There's a witch, a vampire witch. They say she is the oldest and most powerful witch in the world, some say it was Klaus who turned her. The point is she ran from Klaus and he's been searching for her for 700 years and I've been looking for her for 300 years" she said smirking
"She's in India?"
"The last I heard. It makes sense, the strongest witch population is there, and they would protect her. If we find her before he does, we have leverage to bargain for our freedom and trust me he wants her more than he wants you and Damon. All we have to do is find her"
"I have to say I'm impressed Katherine" Stefan said and she smiled back at him
"Thank you" she said making a mock bow "We get the witch we ensure your and Damon's freedom, Caroline's safety as well. You know as well I do if Damon refuses to come willingly Klaus will use Caroline to force him... and that situation doesn't end too good for Blondie"