A/N: Note that everytime I say Ric, it is really Klaus in Ric's body. But since this is from Caroline's perspective she doesn't know yet.
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Tonight was the decade dance, Caroline remembered on her way back home. I'll need to change when I get home Caroline thought to herself. Matt would come later and pick her up. She was surprised by her lack of excitement. Normally there would be nothing on her mind but the anticipation of a good dance. Even as a vampire no one could take that normalcy away from her. But today, the interaction with Ric had thrown her off. Caroline was not sure what to make of what had happened, especially since so little had happened. They had talked, or rather Caroline had talked and Ric had asked questions. But it would be an understatement to call it regular chitchat out of concern for Elena. Ric had pressed her buttons and Caroline had been surprised by the diverse range of emotions she had felt during that small interaction. She could tell it would be on her mind all afternoon. Caroline took a deep sigh, but was saved from her brain re-playing the events over and over again by a beep of her phone. Elena had texted her.
'Where are you?
Caroline frowned and typed, 'On my way home. Why?'
She immediately got a reply back, 'Klaus is in town. Be careful. Can you make your way over here?'
Elena meant the Boarding House. The name 'Klaus' sent shivers down her spine, she wouldn't want to run into him. She straightened her shoulders. Not to worry she told herself, we will make a plan.
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When she arrived everyone was already there. Damon greeted her with a, 'Hello Blondie,' and raised his glass. Caroline did not deem that worthy of a reply and walked straight past him, her blonde waves following behind her.
Ric was also here, she tried her best not to look at him. Though she could feel his stare in her back. Bonnie was near Elena and Caroline had a feeling that the witch hadn't left Elena's side. Stefan as always had a broody expression on his face as he lounged against the bookshelf.
'So, what do we know about this Klaus?' Caroline asked no one in particular.
'The decade dance,' Elena provided, 'He will be there,' Caroline nodded slowly, considering the implications of this.
Stefan moved towards them from the bookshelf and added, 'We believe Bonnie can take him down.' The control freak in her calmed down, they had a plan at least. She took a deep breath.
'We should stick together tonight,' Damon said. 'Think about it, there is a reason the big bad picked a dance to make his first appearance,'
Stefan nodded in agreement and said, 'Yup, in a big crowd it's easy to lose sight of each other. He will exploit that.'
Alaric stepped forward with an idea, 'How about we make pairs then, everyone a buddy?,' The others shrugged in acceptance
'Elena and Stefan?' Ric started, Damon frowned then.
'No way, this one,' Damon said gesturing to Elena, 'needs extra protection.' Elena pouted, but didn't object. Stefan didn't say anything, no matter the feelings Damon might for Elena, he knew how far Damon would go to keep her safe.
'Right, Elena, Stefan and Damon it is then,' Ric said with a shrug.
Before Ric could make the next suggestion, Jeremy came forward. 'I will stick with Bonnie,' He declared. Bonnie wanted to object, but Jeremy reassured her that he had his ring. Some of the worry prevalent on Bonnie's face smoothed away hearing that. It was settled.
Caroline knew what was coming next. And it did.
'Caroline?' Ric asked with a question in his voice. Caroline was forced to look at him then. He had a small amused smile on his face.
Caroline nodded a yes back at him. Ric's smile turned into a smirk. Slightly uncomfortable Caroline looked around to see if anyone else had noticed Ric's strange expression. But everyone looked distracted by thoughts of tonight and what would happen.
Still, Caroline couldn't help but wonder if he had planned for the two of them to pair up all along. Nah, that was ridiculous. She shook her head; not everything is about her.
The group started to scatter then. The meeting was apparently over. Damon went to poor himself another drink and Ric joined him. Stefan and Elena retreated to wherever, and so did Bonnie and Jeremy. Time to go home and get changed at last. They would all see each other at the party.
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Just the other day Matt had asked her to compel him. He wanted to forget about her being a vampire, so Caroline had done as he asked and compelled him to forget. But she still felt guilty. It reminded her of Damon and how he had compelled her. She slapped herself out of these thoughts. Seriously, just have fun with him she told herself, maybe their relationship would feel the same again. Yup, Matt would pick her up, they would dance the night away, all the while keeping an eye out on Ric. Yes, that is what would happen, she reassured herself.
Just as she had finished applying her make up, she heard the doorbell ring. Matt was early she thought. Heels clicking she walked to the frontdoor.
In the pinkest outfit you can imagine Caroline opened the door and was surprised to find Alaric. 'What are you doing here?' Caroline exclaimed, though she managed to muffle her reaction with her hands. Her mum was home and she was not sure how she was going to explain this one.
Ric chuckled at her reaction. 'What do you think?' He said.
'I know we paired up, but I thought we would simply meet at the party,' Caroline said moving her arms dramatically.
'Ah… a misunderstanding, sorry love,' Ric said not looking guilty at all. Instead he looked her over and said, 'The sixties are not my decade,' He paused meeting her eyes, 'but you look glamourous.'
Caroline thanked him for the compliment before realisation hit. Her brows furrowed in confusion. 'Wait did you just call me love,' She asked.
'So I did, shall we go now?' Ric asked holding out his arm.
'I need to text Matt first, he was supposed to pick me up,' Caroline said as she took her phone out of her handbag.
'Oh yes, your human boyfriend, the quarterback,' Ric drawled as she started texting Matt. Caroline raised her eyebrows at that statement but didn't reply.
'Done,' Caroline looked up from her phone, 'I told him I will meet him there.'
'Off we go then,' Ric held out his arm again, Caroline took it and they started moving in the darkness.
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As they walked to the car, Ric said, 'I am surprised you are still dating a human after becoming a vampire,'
Caroline didn't reply right away.
Ric opened the door for her and she gracefully stepped in her seat. And then he carefully closed the door behind her. He was acting like quite the sixties gentleman. It wasn't long before Ric had made himself comfortable in the driver's seat.
As he started the engine, Caroline finally replied, 'I avoided him for a while, I was afraid I would hurt him. I am not anymore.'
Ric nodded and was about to start driving before Caroline stopped him saying that she needed a second to put on her seatbelt.
A big smile appeared on Ric's face as she did just that.
'Still holding on to human conventions I see,' He observed .
Caroline furrowed her brows in confusion.
'Putting on your seatbelt,' Ric added in explanation.
Caroline huffed and rolled her eyes, 'I know It's technically not going to kill me if we have an accident, but I'd prefer to avoid the unnecessary pain, thank you very much.' She shivered thinking about the car crash that had landed her in the hospital. 'I would know. I have felt it. It's not pretty,' Caroline said thickly while looking out of the window.
'You are safe now.' Ric said automatically. Caroline glanced back at him, he seemed slightly puzzled by his own words. Interesting.
'He says as we are driving towards a murderous vampire called Klaus,' Caroline half-joked. The name had caused fear in the likes of Damon, she had no reason to be sure of her safety. Speaking about the party, they were almost there now, it was a short drive. Caroline took a deep breath.
Ric looked a bit tense then. 'He wouldn't hurt you,' Ric said reassuringly.
Caroline looked doubtful. 'He would if it gets him what he wants,' She said matter of factly.
Ric shook his head grimly. 'Let's hope it doesn't come to that,' He said as he pulled into a parking spot.
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The school was buzzing with people. Caroline and Ric were searching the crowd for familiar faces. Ric looked in distaste at the costumes and decorations. He hadn't been lying about his dislike for the sixties. Caroline laughed at his miserable expression.
'Seriously, it isn't that bad,' Caroline said with amusement in her voice.
'I much prefer the twenties,' Ric provided. Her friends hadn't arrived yet, they might as well make conversation Caroline thought.
'And why is that?' Caroline prompted.
Ric quirked an eyebrow at her interest and gladly continued talking. He seemed to retreat in a faraway place in head as he talked.
'The style, the jazz, the girls would dance until they were dead,' Ric said dreamily.
For a moment they looked away from each other and at the moving crowd on the dancefloor. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
'I love dancing,' Caroline said while staring at one of the dancing couples, 'My plan for tonight was to dance the night away,' She paused to look at him. Ric seemed a bit less miserable now that we are talking about the twenties and dancing. He looked positively content and his eyes were twinkling. 'And keep an eye on you of course,' She finally added while tilting her head. Was she flirting?
A genuine smile appeared on Alaric's face, he was about to say something, but they were interrupted by Matt.
'Hey Care, there you are!' Matt said, happy to have found her in the crowd. She forced a smile at her boyfriend. She was mildly sad her former conversation had come to an end.
'Hey you!' Caroline said and gave him a quick hug. As she pulled out of the hug she glanced at Ric. If Ric had looked positively content before, he looked positively murderous now. Though he soon replaced his murderous expression with a blank one.
Matt noticed Ric then, 'Hi Mr. Saltzman,' he said politely and nodded at him.
Ric nodded back at him, no aversion apparant on his face.
Caroline really, really disliked awkward silences so she was glad to notice the Salvatore brothers on the other side of the room.
'There they are,' Caroline said nodding at the Salvatores. 'Want to go say hello?' She asked.
She didn't wait for them to reply and started making her way through the crowd.
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Caroline noticed Ric chatting with Damon when they heard the announcement that made them all tense up. A song had been dedicated to Elena from Klaus. Klaus was here, there was no doubt about it anymore. Figuring that Ric would be fine in the hands of Damon, Caroline started looking for Matt, desperately wanting to make sure he is safe.
Caroline approached multiple people and put on her best smile as she asked the question, 'Have you seen Matt?' A couple of unhelpful replies later, she finally got an answer. Apparently Matt had bumped into someone and that person had been so angry that he had punched Matt in the face.
She panickedly looked around in an attempt to find him, finally she saw him standing in the corner of the room, holding a napkin to his face. Caroline was horrified, his face was bleeding. She ran towards him
'Matt, are you alright.' She asked gently. 'Let me take you home.'
He nodded and they started walking. She put an arm around his waist to support him though thankfully he seemed to walk fine.
Caroline noticed her bloodlust increase the longer she walked near him. She tried not to look at him and instead looked the other way. Her fangs would probably appear and she couldn't bear the thought of him seeing it. Matt had asked her to make him forget. He hated what she was. It hurt.
Matt shifted and made her look at him once they were outside. 'I can't do this anymore, Care.' Matt admitted. He pointed at her face. 'I know what you are, I was on vervain,' He added.
Caroline was dumbfounded. Her arms dropped to her sides.
'I tried, I really tried to get past this. But..' Matt started.
'But you can't', Caroline interjected, 'Because of this.' She gestured at her face.
He nodded with pain in his eyes. The blood was starting to drop on his shirt.
Caroline took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her heightened emotions in combination with the bloodlust was not ideal.
Matt started to talk again, 'Care..'
'No don't, I have to get away from you.' Caroline said. 'Will you make it home okay?'
Matt nodded yes.
They parted ways.
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Once he was out of sight Caroline sat down on the ground trying to get herself together. She was sitting somewhere in the parking lot, out of sight, so that no one would find her in this state.
The blonde took deep breaths and hugged her knees. Still, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She had always prided herself on her control, why couldn't she control these damn tears.
'Caroline,' Ric said gently. The kindness in his voice made her cry harder. She almost couldn't see him through the wetness of her tears.
Ric sat down next to her and pulled her close. She melted in to him. 'Hey, it's okay. You're safe,' Ric muttered. Before long his sixties outfit was wet.
When Caroline noticed she looked up at last, 'I'm sorry about that,' She said guiltily and with a small laugh.
'Nonsense,' Ric said. 'Are you alright?' He asked.
'I am now.''
'Good.' He said. Caroline sat up a bit straighter then, she followed his gaze up to the stars.
'I am still me, a better version of me, but Matt can't see that,' Caroline said thoughtfully.
Ric tilted his head and said, 'Then he is a fool,'
Instinctively Caroline laid her hand on his hand. Unlike during their first encounter Caroline did not question the intimacy. In response, Ric did not blink once in his greediness to capture every moment. As they sat they listened to the music that way playing inside the building. It was comfortable.
But nothing lasts forever.
'Shall we go back inside?' The blonde asked excitedly, 'This is my favourite song.'
So they did.
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This was part 1 of the decade dance. Let me know what you think. Next chapter Caroline will find out Ric's real identity.
