For jads1000, a terrible enabler! :) This was written as a continuation of You Can't Scare Me (Chapter 9).
Violet awoke with a gasp, a sudden fear enveloping her as she couldn't place her surroundings. With her mind still muddy after the transition, it took her a few moments to recognize the strange bedroom Caroline had led her to. She was dead, with only a former pageant queen to protect her from herself. Perhaps she should have been more wary of the vampire welcoming her into her home, but Violet wasn't about to turn down blood bags and a fabulous bathroom.
A sound from said bathroom spooked her, though, and Violet clutched the covers to her chest as she waited for someone to kill her again. When no threat came, she slowly got out of bed and padded toward the opulent room where an unexpected sight surprised her. "Caroline?"
The older vampire was scrubbing the tiled floor on her hands and knees, literally using a toothbrush to get into the crevices. "I couldn't sleep," Caroline explained without looking back. Her movements were jerky, like she had too much adrenaline running through her veins. "Stress cleaning seemed like a good idea. I started with my bathroom, mostly because I hadn't touched Stefan's cabinet since- Well, anyway, there was so much dust that I had to pitch two bottles of hair gel that were all gunked up with the stuff. Of course, he has a thousand more options still in there, so I'm sure he won't be too mad when he comes- Um, yeah, so I finished my bathroom and thought about leaving you here with Damon's and needed to clean some more. I mean, it's disinfected, I have cleaned since he left. But still," her rambling finally broke as she shuddered dramatically. "Cooties."
Violet watched as Caroline kept scrubbing and rambling about her murderer's hair products, and the conversation she overheard earlier came flooding back. A bad feeling froze in her spine when the dots finally connected in horror.
When Violet didn't answer, Caroline turned to see the girl shifting uncomfortably. Her eyebrows immediately furrowed in concern. "What's wrong?" she asked, standing to get a better look at her expression. The girl didn't seem scared, but Caroline wanted to be sympathetic. "You're safe, I promise."
"I know," Violet answered easily, squeezing her middle with her crossed arms. Caroline waited for her to continue, giving an encouraging nod when she seemed unsure. "I just don't get it. You're so nice, and you're taking care of me. But, were you really going to marry the guy that killed me?"
Smiling sadly, Caroline removed the rubber gloves she had been wearing. "He's the one who took care of me when I first turned." Caroline's expression turned wistful as she remembered. "Vampires can grow detached from their humanity over time, but we also have the ability to flip that humanity off altogether. Stefan without his...it's just really bad and he's not like his normal self. My Stefan is kind, and heroic. He protected me when no one else did."
"He wasn't the one to turn you?"
"No," Caroline snorted. "I was killed by a real bitch, the same one who turned Stefan and his brother, Damon. She left me to wake up alone and scared in a hospital, not knowing what was happening or how to deal. There were...bad memories, and this incredible hunger I didn't know how to feed."
She paused, and Violet was desperate for details. "What happened?"
Caroline licked her lips, bracing herself. "Damon, whose room we're in, tried to kill me. I was a loose end, you see." Her voice dripped with self-deprecation, a hollow reminder of the girl she once was. Then, a small smile came to her face. "Stefan saved me, and he taught me how to be a vampire, a good one."
Her smile brightening, Caroline's hands landed triumphantly on her hips. "And now, I'm going to teach you."
She flashed away, and Violet was still a little disoriented with the open display of vampirism. Her new and improved senses could hear the blonde rummaging around downstairs, though she couldn't place the noise exactly. Quieter and faster than she could believe, Caroline returned suddenly; Violet jumped in surprise.
"Sorry," Caroline winced, holding up bottles of wine, pretzels, and ice cream in conciliation. "Vampire 101 starts with sublimation through food and booze."
Violet greedily reached for wine, though Caroline pulled it back with a raised finger in severity. "As a mother, I feel the need to warn you about the dangers of underage drinking." At Violet's kicked puppy look, however, Caroline felt her resolve weaken. "But, you also died today, so maybe you've earned a drink or two."
Stefan sat on the roof, listening in to the girls chattering away in Damon's bedroom. He really had left when Caroline sent him away, but he felt the most annoying tug to return to the boarding house after grabbing a blonde to eat.
He finally rid Damon of the damned necklace, only for the ring in his pocket to feel like a stone weighing him down. It was all her fault, and Stefan idly noted that he let her dig under his skin. Still, he couldn't help but frown when her laugh seemed dampened.
Absently, Stefan pulled the ring from his pocket, twisting it between his fingers as he contemplated Miss Forbes' plan. Maybe a bit naive and optimistic for the Ripper, but she always had been a better manipulator than they gave her credit. Just because he knew he was being manipulated, though, it didn't make him less susceptible to her efforts. Worse, he was tempted to test her limits in kind.
Distracting, that was the word for her.
Even as she giggled over snacks and wine with her new protege, Caroline had no idea she had already delayed his plans until morning. Stefan could very easily drop the ring and flash away, but there he sat.
Damon was right, the Ripper was satisfying Cade just fine with his killing sprees. He had certainly earned a night to pause and listen to the girl who threw his ring back in his face.
He was sure her harsh words and light laughter with someone who wasn't him would be out of his system by morning.