Hello, my lovely readers. Okay, so this is one of those Carolineless chapter but that does not mean that she is far from Klaus' thoughts. She will be in the next chapter. On with the show…
Chapter 35: Out with the Old
For the longest time I did not think about the fact that there was an empty bed in our room. I always thought it was simply there like Alexander and Conner without Vaughn for company. They did not seem to know what to do with themselves. It made me smile to see them dragging themselves about the school glaring at the now cheerful student body. One day, I came up to my room and found that there was young boy my age laying on the empty bed and contemplating the ceiling.
"Hello," I called to him. I remembered what it was like to be the new boy in the school and what it is like to contemplate this boring ceiling and those hideous walls. The boy sat up and stared at me with a smirk.
"Hello," the boy said and then he hopped to his feet. He was standing before me faster than I had time to blink. I wondered if he could possibly be one of those child vampires that sounded like a monstrosity to me. Then I noticed that he was wearing skates. "You must be one of my new mates. Lorenzo. Call me Enzo."
"If you insist," I muttered, not really liking the way that he seemed to take on a presence in the room. Fortunately for me Enzo was soon distracted when Damon appeared in the room. "DAMON," Enzo shouted in my ear.
"ENZO," Damon shouted back and I looked from the one to the other. They were acting like they were long lost friends. What the hell was this? Feeling a spike of jealousy course through my veins, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at this interloper.
"You two know each other?" I kept my gaze on Damon, waiting for my friend to answer. I did not care to hear what would come from this Enzo person. He was not my friend and from the way that he had been introduced I thought that I would be just as happy to see him leave.
"Yeah," Damon told me but he was still grinning at Enzo like he was a bright, shiny new toy for my friend to play with. Yes, that was what he was. Damon would play with him until he became bored and then he would come back to me. Because he was my best friend, not this Enzo's. "We met in the infirmary when I got beaten up. Enzo was great. He really kept me from going crazy down there."
"Oh," this was not a witty response but it was all I could think to say. If Enzo kept Damon company while he was stuck in the infirmary after his beating then I could not say too much. I had not been visiting him as much as I should have given the fact that I had been too busy plotting the end of the "Gang of Three" which is how I had begun to refer to Vaughn and his mates.
"What are you doing here?" Damon was asking Enzo and I felt annoyed staring at the two.
"Oh, I was sick of my roommates, so I thought I would get an exchange," Enzo told Damon with a smirk. Examining the other boy, I felt like there was more to the story than what Enzo was willing to tell Damon just yet. I did not have time to ask for more details when Marcel appeared in the doorway with Diego and Thierry, two of our boarding mates, who had come out of hiding since the disappearance of Vaughn. It was like the whole school was breathing a collective sigh of relief.
"Klaus," Diego called. "We're planning a party in your honor for getting rid of Vaughn."
"Yes, thank you, Klaus," Thierry added. "We thought that we might not see the end of him until we graduated."
"And now we are going to party until tomorrow," Marcel announced with a happy grin.
Feeling pride fill me, I smiled happily. If Damon wanted to spend time with his new friend then he could have as much time as he wanted, I had a party in my honor to attend.
"You know I heard that Damon played quite the part in the destruction of that little posse, Thank you for noticing his greatness." Enzo called while wrapping an arm around Damon's shoulders and allowing his sarcasm to crash over the others in the room.
Spinning to face Enzo, I started to tell him exactly what I thought of his opinions when Damon jumped in. "You know, it was really a group effort. But Nik was the brains of the thing. And Caroline, his girl, is not here to be part of the celebration. She was just as much a part of stopping them as I was."
"Well, when will the bird be here again, Damon?" Enzo asked, lifting his eyebrows.
Damon looked thoughtful before answering. "I think in about a week. Right, Nik?" I nodded wordlessly.
"Then why don't we wait until next week to have the party. Then we can have everyone who deserves credit there for the party, rather than, patting one person on the back." Enzo's suggestion had me on the verge of wrapping my hands around his throat and throttling him. I simply wanted one night to enjoy myself and to not have to be reminded that Caroline was not with me. Now, that was ruined, too. I wondered if anyone would notice if I smothered Enzo with a pillow in the middle of the night.
"Sounds like a plan," Damon concluded and then I had had enough. Without a word, I pushed past Diego and Thierry and headed down the hallway. I really needed a break from the new friendship brewing in my room. Putting distance between myself and the pain I was about to suffer from seemed like a good idea.
"Klaus, wait," Marcel called. He was being followed by Thierry and Diego.
"Who cares what Enzo thinks?" Diego told me with a laugh. "Let's just go somewhere else and party?"
Smirking, I raised my hands in the air. "And a party we shall have." We raced down the stairs and out the front door. Running out into the moonlight, I felt a little wild. For some reason the full moon always made me feel a little crazy. Even though I enjoyed the company of my new friends I still missed the Mystic Falls gang, my family and I could never do anything without having a moment in which Caroline would float into my mind.
Marcel and I divided the group in half. Each of us chose team mates to play a rousing game involving tag. It was of the oldest games out there but we found ways to make improvements including painting ourselves in mud, stripping down to our shorts and then running around with large sticks which we would poke the poor fool who was tagged with. The only rule was that you had to avoid causing permanent damage to anyone which meant no poking people in the eyeball or anywhere else that was considered a sensitive area.
In the end it was just me and Marcel who could stand on their feet to continue trying to poke the other one. "Go, Team Klaus," Diego called.
"Go, Team Marcel," Thierry called and clapped Marcel on the back before moving to the sidelines while Marcel and I circled each other. Now, to me, this was what being a boy was all about. None of this silly allowing your little girl friend to try to smear lipstick on you to decide what your coloring was. Caroline had Elena and Bonnie for that. If she could embrace being a girl then I had right to being a boy and that meant bloody well knocking one of my best mates on his ass with a large stick.
I think that I must been lost in my own thoughts for too long because Marcel dodged forward suddenly and placed his stick to the side of my knees. I groaned in frustration. Caroline was not there in person to distract me but apparently the very thought of her was about to land me on the ground. Feeling the breath that I was holding whoosh out of me as I hit the ground, I glared up at Marcel who grinned happily down at me. "Rematch?" He suggested and I began to shake my head.
"Marcel said that your sister is cute," Diego said, coming to stand over me and I fixed my gaze on Marcel who shook his head with a look of horror on his face. He was about to object when I leapt to my feet and knocked Marcel's stick from his hands in rage.
"You shall not come near my sister," I ordered Marcel.
Marcel backed up as I strode toward him with my stick held before me like a sword. "Dude, she's a baby. No way would I like a girl that young." Marcel protested, walking backwards.
"Good," I smiled and then I knocked him to the ground with a swift shove of the stick to his stomach. "Let that serve as a warning if you ever change your mind." Marcel nodded before I held out a hand to him and yanked him to his feet. We found a small pond nearby and cleaned off the mud before falling asleep on the bank.
Waking up the next morning, I realized that we had fallen asleep outside. That was not a good idea at all. If we were caught off school property without permission we would receive a punishment and I had still not received any type of punishment that I had heard I should fear. We ran into the school and up to our rooms. Thankfully, we didn't get caught.
"Where were you all night?" Damon asked me as he stood fully dressed and ready for classes. I needed to get a shower and find something to wear since I had forgotten to get my clothes cleaned because I was far too busy.
"I was out," I told him with a smile; then I grabbed my towel and a couple of things I needed for a quick shower.
Damon ran a hand through his hair and gave me a wary look before sitting down on his bed. "Are you pissed at me, Nik?"
"Nope," I replied, mimicking the way he said it.
"You sound pissed," Damon replied slowly.
"I may sound like a duck but that doesn't mean that I am a duck," I told him hoping that the lame joke would get him to shut up. Where was the ever present Enzo when you needed him? Of course, he would turn out to be one of those people who appears to ruin your happiness and when his deed was done he disappeared like the mist in one of those horrible teen horror shows.
"Whatever," Damon snapped. "I'm going downstairs to find Enzo. He said he was going to get some food and he would be back in soon. But it's been like half an hour."
Sneering, I was about to reply when Marcel entered the room followed by Enzo. "Speak of the devil," Enzo called loudly. "And he shall appear." Bowing, he grinned at Damon and then me. I continued to sneer. "Not a fan I take it."
"Not at all," I told him before walking past him.
"Nik," Damon called after me. Stepping into the hall. I decided to ignore him and keep walking. He could bloody well enjoy his quality time with Enzo, I had to get cleaned up before someone took it upon themselves to rat me out.
After a quick shower, I strode back to my room expecting to find no one there since I had seen Marcel's towel when I left the stall I was in. Entering the room, I was not happy when I found Enzo lying on my bed. "What are you doing?" I snarled when I realized that he was reading my letters from Caroline. I knew which ones they were because she used pink paper. Yes, she was turning out to be quite the girly girl.
"Ah, you know it is adorable the way that she makes those little hearts rather than periods at the top of her I's and j's. Is this the lovely young Miss Forbes?" Enzo held up a picture of Caroline that sat beside my bed. "She's awfully cute. Are you sure that she hasn't found a boy to fancy or who fancies her since you left?"
I growled. "Get off my bed. Drop my things. And get a new room before I kill you!" The words had left my mouth before I could fully process what I had said.
Instead of looking put off by my words, Enzo chuckled. "I do rub you the wrong way, don't I? I don't mean to offend you. Rather, I respect what you've done here. I simply want a place in this school. Never have I felt like I belonged much of anywhere. And then I met Damon. He was unique, a kindred spirit, if you will. When he told me about your friendship, I reasoned with myself that you could have room for one more. Right? Not too much to ask?"
Pursing my lips, I began to think of what Enzo was saying. This was more of a request. I was not used to people requesting to be a friend. Or at least have a place within my group since the last time I had been with the dare club and that had been some time now. What felt like forever to be honest. Cocking my head to the side, I examined Enzo. "Has Damon told you about the Dare Club?"
"Dare Club?" Enzo shook his head with a frown.
"Back home, we started this thing we call the Mystic Falls Dare Club. I suppose that it is time that we started a new chapter here at the school since we'll probably be stuck at this place for some time," I informed Enzo who smiled with a gleam to his eyes that made me smirk.
"As one of the founders of the club, I can invite whomever I please to join us. Therefore, Enzo, I invite you to become one of the members of the new Dare Club," I continued. "If you accept, then you must follow the rules of Dare Club. First off is that you are given a dare and you must complete it. You can always give the dare to someone else. But since you could ask either me or Damon at the moment, and we most likely will not accept, then you'll have to complete the dare. You can only ask one of the founders of the club to perform one of your dares once a year. The founders are me, Damon and Caroline. If you do not complete your dare then you will be out of the club. Here's the catch, you'll never be out of the club because it is a lifetime membership. Now, are you ready to complete your first dare?"
Enzo got to his feet, "I was born ready, mate."
"Lovely! Your first dare is to find out if Marcel really does fancy my sister and why and how that could happen?" I was generally confused by how that could have happened.
Enzo grinned from ear to ear. "Off I go," but before he left the room, he paused in the doorway. "Does this mean that I can give you a dare?"
"Of course," I replied, not thinking about why he would ask.
"Good," Enzo paused deep in thought and then told me what his dare was. "I dare you to call up your mates in Mystic Falls and tell them that you've given up your position as one of the founders of the Dare Club and you gave it to me. And that they have to do whatever I ask when I ring them up and dare them to do for… a week. A week sounds about long enough. Then you can ring them up and let them know it was a dare."
Gulping, I forced a smile. "Dare accepted. Good luck, Enzo," I hoped that I would not come to regret this.
Thank you to everyone who has faved, followed or read this story: klarolinelover123, Guest, YAZMIN V, ferrylis, xXAnceintBaneXx, Jayyy, lavanya, Klaroline-lovegames, Annabyblood and Heidiionaanita.
Deepie: Yeah, he did.
Rose: I like to play with Damon and Stefan's relationship in this story where Damon acts like he hates Stefan but he still loves him at the end of the day. As for Finn and Sage, I didn't see that coming until the twist popped in and said "Write me!"
Sorry, not going to happen. Every character has a reason for existing in this story otherwise they wouldn't make an appearance. Just remember the method of pretending these characters are blank slates. This means that Hayley, like all the other characters, has a different history than what we've seen so far on the show or read in other fics. It's super dark and was quite difficult for me to write due to the subject matter that hit a little too close to home. That will be in chapter 38, I think. And here I go back to cheerleading.
Jayyy: I don't know if there will be a real triangle between Klaus, Caroline and Enzo because Caroline is like eight… But there might be some flirtation as the story progresses to remind Klaus that he needs to show Caroline how much he cares or he might just lose Care…
Lavanya: Enzo isn't really a love interest for Caroline because, again, they're kids at this point. The most that will happen is harmless banter or flirtation… And, I have no idea how to write Tatia. I have one upcoming story that will include her because the story was requested but I have no idea how to write her, so, she will not be in here...
Klaroline-lovegames: Caroline is eight and Klaus is ten. Vaughn was about twelveish… It is highly unlikely that I will write a fic in which anyone rapes Caroline. Although I will say that I have tried to keep instances of rape or abuse out of my fics. Unfortunately, later in this story it will come out that one of the characters in a survivor of sexual assault. How that character deals with what they went through, trying to live with it as a secret and the pain that this has caused will unite the group bringing us closer to a chaotic finale of this story.
Heiidionannita: Vaughn did get what he deserved. As for the future of Caroline and Klaus, well, their journey is far from over and it's all leading up to an explosive finale which I hope is more satisfying than what I suspect the end of season five of TVD will be…
Peace,
LL