A.N: Here is the long-awaited chapter! Thank you so much for your patience. Do not forget to go to the KC Awards on Tumbler to vote for Domino Theory! Voting ends Thursday, I think? So please go vote! As always review I love hearing what you guys think.

Chapter 11

Kol truly outdid himself; Caroline had to begrudgingly give the original as she glanced around at the dancers surrounding her. The fact that someone far older than her could potentially throw a better party than her stung, Caroline hated being second-best. Something anyone who knew her could attest to.

Along with the fact that both Liz Forbes and Miranda Gilbert held pictures of a five-year-old Caroline in pigtails destroying Elena's first place gingerbread house. After that, Caroline vowed always to be the best, so she worked hard to win. Except Caroline could win class president, Elena was always the most popular. The boys always preferred Elena's sweet smiles to Caroline's kind but harsh critiques on doing better.

Caroline only wanted them to be the best version of themselves. Yet no one appreciated it. Bonnie and Elena would roll their eyes whenever Caroline began talking about their futures. How important it was to start planning now. Taking a sip of her drink, Caroline let out a sigh as she watched her two supposed best friends dancing.

Bonnie forced Elena onto the dance floor after spotting Jeremy. Saying she had spent enough of the night worrying and it was time to have fun. Caroline agreed but couldn't relax knowing that her gang of misfits was somewhere with Elena's Salvatore's.

Something was off.

It was only when, out of the corner of her eye, Caroline spotted Sage out of the corner of her eye that the blonde knew the party was over. Glancing at the clock, the cheerleader saw it was midnight. Taking a calming breath, Caroline, head held high, walked onto the makeshift stage, grabbed the microphone. Caroline spared a moment to mouth an apology to the vampires within the building before letting her voice ripple through the room.

"ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE OUT. YOU ARE ALL CINDERELLA NOW FORGET YOUR GLASS SLIPPER AT GET THE FUCK OUT."

The crowd looked up at her; Caroline crossed her arms, daring for any of her classmates to go against her. This was her boyfriend's house, and with every blood Mikaelson not in sight, it was Caroline's house. Given how the host bloody Kol Mikaelson was nowhere to be found, it seemed her classmates were forced to agree.

The entire floor groaned, but it said a lot about Caroline's Queen Bee status that not a single person tried to fight her on it. The blonde watched as Sage and a strangely quiet Finn escorted the drunk teens out with a satisfied smirk.

Huh, when did he return?

Finn, visibly irritated, takes the keys of one drunk football player until Matt gives Caroline an apologetic look before saying he would take him home.

"If you see my sister, call, okay?" Matt asks as Caroline nods her head, trying her best to ignore the horrible feeling in her stomach. Especially when the blonde spotted the guilty look that crossed Elena's face.

While Sage and Finn usher everyone out, the blonde takes a step closer to her best friends, noting how strangely Elena keeps looking over at Katherine.

"Elena, is something the matter?" The blonde decided to question the doppelganger quietly, pulling her to the side as they collected empty red plastic cups off the floor.

"It's nothing, Caroline," The teen said, sidestepping the question. Bonnie shot them both a questioning look as Caroline mouthed an unheard word to her, pointing to Elena. Bonnie nodded determinedly before walking up to them, joining the duo in picking up old plastic cups.

"Elena, what's going on? You saw Jeremy. I know with Vicky vanishing at a whim, he's worried, but Jere will be fine," Bonnie attempted to soothe her friend.

"It's not that" Elena shook her head. "There is just a lot going on in town, you know? Then suddenly, I have a new relative no one knew about? Aunt Jenna just called saying that woman; you remember earlier, right? Were people mistaking someone else for me? Well, she just showed up on our doorstep."

"A long-lost relative isn't very strange but weird considering how closely monitored the founding families were," Bonnie said with a shrug, but both girls could see the suspicion in her eyes.

"I know. Now all of this with Vicky? I swear this town has far too many secrets" Elena shook her head.

"What secret is that exactly, Miss. Gilbert?" Came an elegant but soundly British alerting the trio to who had joined them. The trio turned towards the door where the voice came from. All the guests had filed out mere minutes ago. Sage had paused in her motions of pretending to be cleaning while keeping an eye on Caroline to spy the Mikaelson siblings, being followed by a groaning Vicky trapped between two Salvatores.

"Vicky," Elena let out a shaky breath. Turning towards her boyfriend and his brother, "Is she okay?"

"She's been given blood if that's what you mean," Kol replied with a cheeky grin at her startled look. "It's okay love, Damon here told us all about his night with the late Miss. Donovan."

"Damon!" Elena hissed, looking between her boyfriend and his brother before glancing over towards the Mikaelsons. Damon shot the younger Mikaelson a dirty look, but his face looked resigned and more than a bit bitter. Caroline had to keep herself from laughing at the doe-in-the-headlights expression on her face. The brunette looked towards the Salvatores, clearly waiting for them to explain.

"What Stefan Salvatore has failed to remember until tonight is that he has met two of my siblings before," Elijah cut in. From his tone, it was apparent that he was in no further mood to play games, much to the disappointment of Kol.

"Brother, we could have had at least five minutes of fun," Kol complained. "You couldn't have waited a few minutes."

"Five? I counted at least ten ways to keep her confused for another fifteen minutes at the very least" Niklaus grinned, returning to Caroline's side wrapping an arm around her. From his tightening grip on her shoulder, the blonde had an idea it was a warning to at least one Salvatore.

"Just what is going on? How did you find Vicky?" Bonnie asked as Vicky walked shakily towards the group.

"I want Matty," The newborn whimpered, "I want my brother."

"You'll see your brother soon, sweetheart," Niklaus soothed from his place beside Caroline. "As soon as we can verify, you won't drink him dry.

"What the fuck is going on?" Bonnie asked, glancing worriedly over at Elena, who looked a mix of confused and fearful between the Salvatores and Mikaelsons.

"Can't you guess witchling? You have received your powers. I can smell it on you" Kol grinned. "Your best friend here is dating a vampire. A toddler."

"Stefan?" Elena called for her boyfriend, who wrapped his arms around her, his eyes not straying from Vicky, whom Bonnie was looking over.

"Elijah is right…. It seems I've forgotten more than a few memories" Stefan's eyes narrowed in on Klaus, who shrugged.

"It was nothing personal, mate."

"Again, what is going on?" Bonnie hissed as Vicky turned away from her as Damon managed to flash towards her. Bonnie's eyes widened, stepping back, head-turning towards the others with suspicion.

"What are you?" The witch asked.

Kol clapped, "And the witch finally asks the right question. My dear, your best friends both happen to be dating vampires. Something the sister of your dear sweet blonde friend happens to have just finished transforming into."

XXX

By the time Caroline got home, it was three in the morning, and thankfully her mother was still at work. Oh, she would be in for it in the morning, no doubt; Caroline had missed curfew and knowing her mother. Liz Forbes would know.

Caroline let out a sigh allowing her body to flop onto the mattress. Her joints melted into the softness of her bed. After tonight she was unsure if Bonnie would ever forgive either her or Elena. Perhaps Elena.

Everyone would forgive Saint Elena.

Even if Elena had been knowingly dating a vampire with a known troublemaker for a brother, Caroline at least knew her vampires had their instincts under control. Most of the time. She was trusting, not dumb. She heard the whispers they hissed at each other, of the of-handed comments that hinted at things much darker than Caroline wanted to think about.

After Kol's dropped the bomb, Bonnie turned towards her best friends. Elena burst into tears, talking about how she had broken it off with Stefan when she found out. How she had been spending the night trying to help the Salvatores look for Vicky, knowing Damon had done something with her.

For her part, Caroline dropped her shoulders and said, "I freaked out when I found out last summer, but you don't know them. I trust them when they say the animal attacks weren't them. They haven't hurt a person in this town."

"No, that was Damon," Stefan grunted, glaring at his brother.

"What you expect me to abide by a bunny diet?" Damon mocked. "I'm a monster, Stefan. I don't hide from what I am."

"No, you just run a muck practically screaming vampire" Elijah's sharp tone spoke just how highly he thought of Damon's actions.

"I'm the known screw-up of the family, but even I keep my debauchery to closed doors and ensure my mess can be cleaned up," Kol snickered. "Animal attacks?"

Damon shrugged, "The humans will never admit to something they can't understand. They do the work for us."

Sage sighed, "I didn't teach you anything." Finn wrapped his arm around Sage, kissing her head softly.

Bonnie just looked at the exchange then back at Vicky. "I can't… Care are you?"

"I'm perfectly human, so is Elena," Caroline assured her friend. "No one has touched us in that way. Vicky was just Damon's latest victim."

"She was begging for some fun. How was I supposed to know she'd trip during transitioning?" Damon's tone was defensive. "It wasn't like we had a mentor when we transitioned either."

Caroline let out a sigh as the memory of the night came to an end. Luckily Niklaus and his siblings didn't try to stop Bonnie from leaving. Rebekah said she would be going to her grandmother's, the only other witch in town. Bonnie would get all the verification she needed from her grandmother.

Caroline still felt guilty about keeping something this huge from her. Yet Caroline knew that this secret… wasn't hers to tell. The more time she spent with Niklaus and his siblings, the better she understood how they had survived all these years.

You don't blurt out about the supernatural to everyone. She might trust Bonnie with her life, but even Caroline saw the way her eyes shifted at the announcement that Nik and the rest were vampires. It was as Kol said, witches tended to be very biased against the supernatural. Especially things that went against nature. Witches could tolerate natural-born witches as their gifts were born.

Those who made deals with blood? I couldn't stand them. Vampires and Werewolves went against the very nature as most witches were taught. But something nagged in the back of Caroline's mind. It was the story of how Nik and his siblings became vampires in the first place.

Slowly Caroline's thoughts slowed as the magic of finally laying down caught up with the teenager. Blue eyes closed as she eventually turned to a deep slumber.

XXX

The news was all over town the next day; Vicky had finally shown up at the police station with Finn Mikaelson and his fiancée Sage. The story went that they had just bought some of the property next to the Mikaelson lot as they were hiking, getting the lay of the land, when Sage spotted a disoriented Vicky.

It was official, Vicky was the town's most infamous drugged-out teenager.

Matt was out of his mind when he heard the news, but Liz Forbes entered the school as the town sheriff. She quietly informed him that the Mikaelson's had offered to pay for rehab instead of filing charges for trespassing. Caroline had nearly screamed in rage, knowing how proud Matt was.

A solemn Matt entered back into class, Rebekah overhearing him whispering to Tyler. She quietly relayed the information to a worried Caroline. Bonnie was sitting far away from both Caroline and Elena that morning shot them a curious look but did not budge.

"Rehab?" Caroline questioned Rebekah and Kol the moment they were alone as soon as the lunch bell rang.

Rebekah raised a brow, "It was the most…prudent story that we could all agree upon."

"I suggested that we stage a runaway story, but Rebekah didn't want to hurt little Matty," Kol teased his sister.

"Yeah, and I doubt Vicky would leave Matt. She is many things, but she does love her brother" Caroline shook her head.

"Then I don't see what the problem is!" Rebekah complained as the trio walked towards the cafeteria. "Vicky is free to return once she has the beginnings of control."

"The words Vicky and control do not go together," Caroline mainly muttered to herself.

Kol wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Which gives my dear sister plenty of time to woo the barkeep before his sister returns to cause chaos only with perhaps a smidge of control."

"That's what I'm worried about. You told me yourself that being a vampire heightens everything, and Vicky wasn't someone I would have called mellow," Caroline hissed quietly, spotting the crowded cafeteria.

"Relax, Care-bear," Kol soothed. "Elijah and Finn are in charge of Vicky's vampire education. I offered, but my siblings vetoed it."

"For good reason" Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Caroline is only a junior, and Nik will not leave this godforsaken town until she is free to leave with him. Therefore we cannot have vampires running loose in Mystic Falls."

Kol hummed while Caroline let out a sigh as she spotted Elena walking over to where Bonnie was sitting on the outskirts of the cheer team. Bonnie had yet to speak to either of them all day. Not that the blonde could blame the witch.

She watched as Elena smiled and sat beside their best friend with a pang. Rebekah noticed her gaze and offered her a small knowing smile, "want to go over there?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I'd be welcomed."

"You lot been friends for years. Elena's been keeping a secret, to I'm sure they will forgive you."

"At least until the fact that her precious boyfriend needs Elena to break his curse is found out," Kol chuckled, earning a dark glare from Rebekah.

Caroline frowned, "Tatia… she was Elena's ancestor, wasn't she? Everyone was talking about a double of Elena the other day. She was the one he tried using to break his curse before."

"My God, she did it!" Kol announced with a grin while Rebekah groaned, muttering about murderous hybrids and daggers.

XXX

"What do you want, Stefan?" Rebekah drolled out, performing her perfect give-no-fucks smile that she saved for those who annoyed the fuck out of her, but she could not outright kill for various reasons. She had just stepped out of the school, and the vegetarian vampire was standing in front of her car not seconds after.

"We knew each other in the twenties," Stefan stated.

"Well done stating the obvious," Rebekah retorted. "Is there a reason for this poorly done interrogation?"

"Klaus messed with my memories. Why?" He asked, stepping in front of her keeping the blonde vampire from her car.

"Oh, the same old. Shouldn't you be having this conversation with my brother? You had an entire love-fest going on" Rebekah sidestepped the question. She did not wish to relive the memory of her father coming after them again and how Klaus had chosen to remove Stefan from them to ensure their safety.

He was, after all, a ripper.

"I want to hear it from you."

Rebekah sighed, crossing her arms, and stared him down. She waited as Stefan stuffed his hands into his pockets and waited. "There is nothing for me to tell you. Ask Klaus to give you your memories back."

"I did try that, but he seems to think it would be even more hilarious if you told me what happened first."

Rebekah growled, "I am going to rip the esophagus out and enjoy watching it grow back extremely slowly."

Stefan raised a brow, "I see threatening body parts is a family hobby."

Rebekah shrugged, causing her hair to flip to one side, "when you spend a thousand years with someone, things do tend to rub off."

"Did someone say rub off?" Kol's gleeful giggle came up from behind Rebekah. The blonde glowered at her brother as he came to stand beside her. "Tell me, sister. Do you make it a habit of fucking the nutjobs?"

"I believe that is your job. Remind me, how is Mary Anne?" Rebekah smirked at the way Kol's eyes darkened.

"Ha-Ha, sister. ."

Rebekah turned back towards Stefan, "Our brother has decided to play a game with Stefan," the blonde informed Kol. The male Mikaelsons eyes lightened as a grin grew across his face.

"Ohhhhh, a test then."

"A test?" Stefan questioned, his eyes ping-ponging between the two siblings.

Kol let out a small cackle, "yes, one I am sure you are failing at spectacularly right about now. Good luck with that Bunny boy."

Rebekah let out a long-suffering sigh, "if you want to know our past so bad, perhaps you should look into your past. After all, I knew even as a ripper you tended to write in that stupid journal."

Stefan's mouth locked, "I have an entire decade blacked out that not even my best friend could help me track down."

Rebekah shrugged, "While I disagree with how our brother handled the situation. Klaus always does what he thinks is best. If you want those memories back, then I'd focus on figuring out what my brother wants."

Rebekah pushed Stefan to the side, enjoying the way his eyes slightly bulged at the strength she showed. Kol smirked over at the vegetarian vampire hopping into the back just as Caroline walked towards the car.

"My car mysteriously disappeared," The human scowled, looking at a whistling Kol. "I take it I am hitching a ride with you?"

Rebekah leaned over and pushed the door open, "Get in, Bitch."

XXX

Bonnie stepped into the familiar woods surrounding her town with ease that only a born local could achieve. The dark-haired beauty took a fortifying breath as she touched a tree, taking her grandmother's advice to get into nature. Her grandmother had not been surprised about the existence of a vampire nor that her granddaughter's best friends were in the middle of it.

"Your mother, bless her soul, fought a demon that was after your friend, Elena," Her grandmother admitted, her voice so low Bonnie had to strain to hear. "Elena has always had a strangeness surrounding her. She's human, I checked, but her future has always been murkily stained with the supernatural world."

"Caroline?" Bonnie asked warily, in the back of her mind knowing that she had been surrounded by vampires longer than even Elena, whom they had just learned had a double walking around.

"Nothing," Sheila shook her head. "She's always been the one friend of yours with zero connection to our world until now."

"They lied to me, Grams" Bonnie wiped a tear from her eyes. "They kept this whole world a secret."

Sheila scoffed, "Would you have believed it? It was only until the Salvatores showed up that your powers truly began to manifest. You always thought of me as your cooky grandmother."

Bonnie closed her eyes as she leaned against the tree, recalling the way Sheila Bennett had come to her friend's defense. Telling Bonnie that the supernatural was more than just witches, that the world was full of all kinds of creatures, all with their own rules.

"Your friend Caroline is lucky. I may despise what vampires are, but the Mikaelsons are not vampires to be messed with. It's hard to defeat the king."

It was a hand touching her shoulder that shook Bonnie out of her thoughts. Opening her eyes, Bonnie opened her mouth to scream, only for the vampire in front of her to put his hand around her mouth.

"Shhh, little witch. If I were here to hurt you, you'd already be dead, trust me," Kol said with his usual easy shit-eating grin and snark.

"What the hell do you want, Kol?" Bonnie spat, stepping back away from him and cursing herself for not paying closer attention, as she noticed a familiar house in the distance. She walked far too close to their home than she intended.

"Of all my siblings, I am the one who inherited our mother's gift for magic," Kol spoke genuinely. Ignoring the hatred, Bonnie was spewing. "Father was furious that of all his children to inherit her gift, it was a male. Truthfully he would have hated for Rebekah to do magic, but at least it would have been natural" Kol spat the word.

"Your father was an asshole. What does that have to do with me?"

"Your ancestor befriended my mother. She is the reason my mother was even able to create us in the first place," Kol informed the witch. "That's something I doubt was passed down the Bennett line, and I'd hate for sweet Caroline to lose a friend over something your ancestor helped to start."

"You are lying," Bonnie denied. Her grandmother would have mentioned such a thing. Kol raised a brow, "you are of the line of Ayana, yes?"

Bonnie nodded, "she was the first known witch that we can trace our line back to."

"Ask your grandmother how to commune with your ancestors. I think you will find it illuminating."

XXX

Elena watched as her younger brother hopped onto the front porch ahead of her, lost in thought. Caroline was dating a vampire, someone old enough to know Stefan from way back when. Elena couldn't believe that the blonde hadn't said anything. The old Caroline would have been screaming on the rooftops to connect with someone as rich as Klaus and with all the supernatural gifts of being a vampire.

Elena thought Caroline would be gloating.

"Elena?"

The brunette blinked to find her Aunt Jenna at the doorway with a concerned frown on her face. Elena immediately felt guilty knowing that her Aunt had to hold back her grief to help the two teenagers deal with the loss of their parents. She hated the idea of causing the graduate student even more worry.

"Sorry, Jenna. Guess I was daydreaming," Elena excused herself, knowing she couldn't put her Aunt in danger with knowledge of the supernatural world. It was bad enough that her friends had been dragged into it. The only thing that made it slightly easier to swallow is that Bonnie was a real witch, and Caroline had found out on her own.

"Come on in," Jenna waved over her niece, "there is someone I would like for you to meet."

Inside, Elena found Jeremy sitting next to herself? Elena blinked as the woman who looked like she could be her twin. The main difference had to be the way the other woman wore her hair. Her brown hair was styled in loose curls layering down her back, and her style was… extremely feminine.

Femme Fatale, Elena couldn't help but think.

"Hello, I'm Katherine" Her twin introduced herself with a smirk, "I'm so happy to meet extended family."

"How are we related?" Elena blurted out, and her Aunt Jenna shot her a look that screamed, shut up. However, the woman, Katherine, laughed.

"Ways back, you know how old families are lots of secrets it's so hard to keep track of all the familial lines" Katherine glanced over at Jenna, who frowned but didn't say anything.

"Were you at the high school by any chance?" Jeremy asked, glancing over at Elena. "There seems to be a rumor that there are two Elena's running around."

"My boyfriend's younger siblings had gotten into trouble. I went with him. Perhaps you know him, Elijah Mikaelson?"