Author's Note: Hi! I felt evil giving you a cliff hanger like that so I am doing an early update and am neglecting everything else. Anywho THANK YOU SO MUCH! For the responses of last chapter. I know a lot of you want Klaus to get what's coming suffer all that, I think I made him too bad and disrespectful, but no worries it'll all be better. Also a couple of you didn't like that she was compelled, again when she becomes uncompelled it will be interesting. That's all i'm going to say cause i don't want to give anything away, but just know that if you were upset about her being compelled and not leaving on her own accord or creating her own life etc, it will come back later in the story. Also we're obviously going to be in 2012 for the rest of the story and there will be about ten chapters left. So we have a ways to go still. Hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think.

Thank you to: Guest, Guest, Guest, 143lory, redbudrose, klaroline-lovegames, LonelyAnne, HelloCutePanda, ashlytorres24, CrazyLazyAlien, ilyreid, Grace5231973, guest2015, Guest, jessnicole, Klarolinelover123, Guest, ForsakenMythr2012, & chibichibi98!

Enjoy!

Chapter 21 The Teacher

Mystic Falls 2012

"Well look what we have here." A voice said from the barstool beside Caroline.

Caroline looked away from the lesson plan she was drawing up for the first week of school and to her right where the voice was. Her face lit up with a grin when she saw her old friend beside her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked reaching to give him a hug.

"Zach died and now we have to decide what to do with the house." He said returning the hug pulling her as close as possible.

She frowned pulling away. "I'm sorry, Damon." She said patting his arm feeling sympathetic to his situation. She didn't know what it was like to lose a loved one since she'd never loved anyone in her life, but she knew that Zach was Damon's last living relative.

"Why are you here? The last time I saw it was all feminist and Civil Rights movements, jeans, and short blonde hair. And my personal favorite, no bra." He said smirking at her.

She shook her head smiling slightly in amusement. "And the last time I saw you, you were at those feminist rallies right next to me with your 'stick it to the man' attitude and your long black hair." She laughed as the image of 1960's Damon popped into his head.

"I still liked the poodle skirts better I think though. You were much more of a good girl, which made you more fun to corrupt." Damon said casually watching as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Well I liked you in the 60's I enjoyed your rebel attitude." She said fondly thinking of their times together over forty years ago.

"I still have a rebel attitude." He said smirking.

"Yeah, ok." She said rolling her eyes.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked again.

"I live here."

"Where? In the grill?"

"No. In Mystic Falls."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "Because I like it. I teach at the high school." She said.

He laughed loudly, "You? Teach? Really?"

She nodded, "yeah I like it. I mean it's only French and I'm the cheer coach, but it's normal and it keeps me sane."

He shook his head amused, "I can't believe you've settled down."

"I haven't. I'm just living my life."

"Are you seeing anyone?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head, "No. No one."

"How come? Have you been holding out for me all these years?" he teased.

She laughed, "Hardly. Besides I told you that was one time that's never going to happen again. You are still too obsessed with some girl from your human years and I…" she trailed off looking back down at the lesson plan she had to finish.

"Do you like it? The teaching?" he asked picking up on her sullen mood.

She nodded, "yeah I like the kids. They're good kids. Although with all this new technology it's a bit difficult, but it makes me feel like I am needed." She said quietly neglecting to mention it also makes her feel alive for the first time since she had woken up along the side of the road decades ago.

Even after eighty years she still didn't know where she'd come from. But that didn't mean it stopped her from having a good time. She and Damon had met in the early fifties and had formed a quick friendship. Each had their issues, but they understood each other and had a lot of fun together. Occasionally when they were lonely they hooked up, but after they finally had sex Caroline felt like they were better off as friends. She knew though if she asked Damon to have sex he'd be all over her in a heart beat, but she couldn't. Sex with him felt…wrong somehow, like she was made for someone else, but still that didn't stop her. She figured if she was made for someone else then she'd find him eventually. She had forever after all.

"You said 'we' who are you here with?" she asked curiously coming out of her thoughts.

"Stefan." Damon said waving down the brunette bartender and asking for a drink. She got another drink too knowing that she'd probably be here awhile catching up with Damon.

"Your brother?" she asked only having heard Damon bring him up a few times.

"The one and only." He said downing his bourbon in a few minutes before asking the bartender for another. The brunette girl smiled flirtatious at him and Caroline rolled her eyes recognizing the girl from the High School.

"He and his wife or girlfriend or whatever they are, are coming to town. I haven't seen him in a long time so it'll be…interesting." He said staring at the bottom of his glass.

"Why will it be interesting?" Caroline asked curiously.

"He's not like we are, Blondie…he's vicious. He's what's called a Ripper." Damon said quietly.

Caroline frowned, "I'm sure—"

"He didn't used to be this way. In the twenties he found his…lady friend and he's been off his rocker ever since. He moves around with her family and they are one crazy bunch. I've heard stories about them. They're all…blood thirsty." Damon said looking into Caroline's eyes.

"I've heard they can even compel other vampires." He whispered leaning closer to Caroline.

Caroline moved back and lifted her drink to her lips. She swallowed it before turning back to Damon. "Stop telling me ghost stories, Damon. I'm not stupid. Enjoy your brothers company and his lady's. It'll be fun and besides at least you have family." She said quietly looking away from him.

"You've never found anything?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head, "never."

There was a pause in conversation as they both drank their drinks.

"So how long are you here for?" she asked smiling at him. The bad air from before was gone, although there was the lingering knowledge both of them didn't want to deal with separate things. Caroline didn't want to think of her lack of family and Damon didn't want to think of his actual family.

"Not sure yet. Stefan said he'd be here within the week so probably a short while realistically maybe two weeks." He said shrugging.

She grinned at him. "Well I'm glad you're here." She said.

He grinned back before ordering them another round of drinks. He opened his mouth to respond, but immediately closed it when he saw something behind Caroline's shoulder. The previous happy expression dripping from his face and being replaced by an indifferent one.

"Me too." A voice said from behind Caroline.

She whipped around and came face to face with a tall blond woman with a bored expression on her face. Her eyes light up when they landed on Caroline and a spark of recognition could be seen there.

Her companion a blonde man with a smirk on his face and spiky hair stared at her and then his eyes went to Damon's.

"Hello brother." Stefan said smirking at him and going over to Damon's other side to sit down. The female didn't follow him and instead sat beside Caroline her eyes never leaving her.

Caroline shifted uncomfortably under the blonde's gaze and looked down at the lesson plan.

"Stefan." Damon said nodding at his brother and then signaling the bartender to come back over to get everyone a new drink.

"Damon this is my wife Rebekah. Rebekah this is Damon and—" Stefan introduced.

"Caroline." Caroline said smiling at the blonde woman named Rebekah and then at Stefan. Both of them stared at her with raised eyebrows.

"This is a family affair so I probably should go. It was nice meeting you, Rebekah and Stefan. Damon I'll see you later." Caroline said picking her papers up, downing her two drinks and then gathering her purse before turning around and leaving the Mystic Grill.

She could feel their eyes on her and she felt uncomfortable by how they watched her.

When she got outside she plastered on a grin when she saw some of her students coming into the establishment.

"Ms. Bennett, Ms. Gilbert, Mr. Donovan! What a pleasant surprise!" she said smiling at the three high school students.

Elena smiled back, "how are you Ms. Forbes?" she asked politely.

"I'm fine. Are you guys ready to be seniors? Prank night is tonight, correct?" she asked excitedly.

The three looked at each other with blushes in their face.

"It's ok! I won't tell. I'll see you guys tomorrow for the first day! Have fun tonight." Caroline gushed moving past them and to her car.

She had to go home and finish her lesson plan for the first week of school as well as do little chores around her small house. She had already finished her syllabus for French and just needed to make copies, but the first lesson plan was always the hardest. She generally liked to make them up during the summer, but she had been taking a lot of vacations and looking into her past. She had been alive for eighty years she figured it was about time she found out some things.

For instance she had no idea she could speak French until she had seen a movie and she didn't have to read the subtitles to understand. She didn't know she preferred certain types of blood over others. And she didn't know that she could teach until she tried. She was trying to learn everything about herself since she did have a huge gap of memories from her past. She figured she'd try everything and then find out whether or not she liked them since that was the only way she'd learn anything about herself. Sometimes at night she'd wonder if she'd ever learn everything or if she'd ever learn about her past. All she could do was hope, but the longer she went on wondering who she was and where she came from the more she wanted answers.

Damon looked between Rebekah and Stefan curiously as they watched Caroline walk out of the Grill.

"Do you know her?" Damon finally asked.

"Do you know who that is?" Rebekah asked turning to look at her brother in law.

Damon shrugged, "It's Caroline. I met her in the fifties." He said nonchalantly.

"Do you know anything else about her?" Stefan asked glancing at Rebekah.

"She likes to help people, she teaches, she's a loyal friend, and when she comes she—" Damon began buy was cut off by a deadly look on Rebekah's face.

"I wouldn't finish that sentence." Stefan said quietly.

Damon frowned and looked between them. "How do you know her? Do you know her well?"

Rebekah and Stefan looked at each other. "We know her well enough. She teaches, you say? Where?"

"At the high school." Damon said taking another drink.

There was a pause as everyone sunk in that information.

"So can we get back to our family affairs? What do you wanna do about the boarding house?" Damon asked changing the subject from Caroline.

"How did Zach die?" Stefan asked curiously.

Damon shrugged, "dunno. I met him once a few days ago when I got to town and then the next day he was dead." Damon said vaguely.

Stefan frowned, "Why'd you kill him?" he asked.

Damon sighed, "I didn't kill—"

He stopped speaking as the door open and in walked an African-American woman, a blonde man, and a long haired brunette female who looked exactly like Katherine Pierce. The woman with the long brunette hair looked over at Damon and sent him a small smile before going back to talking with her friends.

"Is that…?" Stefan began staring at the brunette female who'd just walked in.

"Katherine." Damon whispered watching as the brunette sat with her friends. He couldn't help but notice she kept looking over at him.

"No. That's her doppleganger and why we're here." Rebekah said breaking the spell.

Stefan looked over at her sheepishly and picked up his glass to sip as his wife glared at him.

"A doppleganger?" Damon asked.

Rebekah nodded, "It's a need to know basis, but we need her. Why else do you think we got here so fast? You're boarding house is only the first of the issues we have to deal with, the second is the doppleganger bitch, and now we have to figure out what to do with Caroline." Rebekah said quietly.

"What do you mean 'figure out what to do with Caroline?'" Damon asked suspiciously.

Rebekah looked over at Stefan and then at him. "Nothing that concerns you. Now if you excuse me I must get back to my brothers. I have a lot to tell them about. Have a nice talk, boys." She said standing up and going over to Stefan. She kissed him on the lips before giving Damon a stiff smile and leaving the establishment, but not before sending an irritated look at Elena.

Damon watched her go before turning to Stefan. "What exactly is going on here, Stefan?" he asked annoyed to be out of the loop.

Stefan smirked, "tell me what happened with Zach and maybe I'll tell you."

Damon glowered at him over his glass rim. "I've been living in Mystic Falls for awhile now undercover, helping out the chief of police and trying to keep Elena—that's the doppleganger—safe. Zach didn't like it so I killed him. Now tell me what are they going to do to Elena? Or Caroline?" Damon asked.

Stefan smirked and sighed before getting up, "Rebekah's brother is going to kill Elena and I honestly don't know about Caroline. We didn't know she was here." He said before throwing a hundred on the counter and leaving.

"Stefan!" Damon yelled watching him leave with angry eyes. When Stefan ignored him and walked out he looked over at Elena laughing with her friends and he felt sick at what he knew. He had to warn her and Caroline. Although he was curious to know what Caroline had to do with any of this. What exactly had happened in her past? Was she somehow connected with Rebekah's family? Something was brewing, something dark.

He could feel it.

(A/n: Let me know what you think! Please review. More will come soon. I still gotta update Wolf which should be tomorrow or wed. Happy Memorial day!)