Hello, my lovely readers. Klaus' schemes are just getting started. On with the show…

Chapter 3: You Can Sell Anything in Today's Market!

Weekends. The days of the week that most students-not including college students—look forward to. They're the days when we can escape the confines of the four walls disconnecting us from our hopes and dreams, leaving us pondering when the sweet surrender of summer will be in reach. However, since the bloody boarding school opened, my oasis from the tedium of my home life had been ruined. Whenever I set foot in Damon's home, I was once again reminded that so many strange boys lived under my best friend's roof. Also Enzo lived there…

"Good morning, Nik." Enzo greeted me the moment the door opened.

Narrowing my eyes, I hitched my book bag. "Enzo. Where is Damon?"

"Don't know." Enzo smirked back at me and had yet to move out of my way.

Enzo and I have a long history. We'd been roommates. Allies. Quasi-friends. Actual friends and roommates for a short stint, thanks to Katherine. Now we were enemies. I wasn't sure why it was that I disliked Enzo so much. Perhaps it was his accent. I enjoyed how the girls in our little group would hang on my words, especially Caroline. Or maybe it was Enzo's living with Damon. Damon and I used to live together for a period along with the rest of my family when we lost our home. More than likely it was Enzo's crush on Caroline. Yes. I believe that's what broke our friendship.

Reminding myself why I was there in the first place, I pressed forward and felt satisfied when Enzo stepped back. "I'll go and find him."

"Right." Enzo paused. "Do you know where Caroline is this morning?"

"No." I felt my skin prickle and I forced myself to not lose my temper when Enzo let out a low chuckle.

"She's in the kitchen." Enzo's words were followed by his leaving the foyer. "You're free to join us," he called over his shoulder.

Feeling the desire to murder someone, I stomped over to the stairs. "She's in the kitchen," I muttered under my breath as boys passed me on the stairs. A few offered greetings. They were becoming aware of how close Damon and I were. That meant most of them wanted to become my friend. Others did not care.

With a heavy sigh, I made my way down the hallway. I only stopped for a moment when I heard two familiar voices arguing. "I don't want to wear that, Bekah!" Stefan Salvatore complained. "It's…not my color…"

Rebekah came into view with a tie. "You'll wear it and you'll bloody well like it! I have to get through this bloody recital, Stefan! And you're going with me or I will never speak to you again!"

"Uh…" Stefan's response took too long for my baby sister.

Bekah stomped over to the door and jerked it open. "Nik! Have you been spying on me!" Her cheeks turned crimson and her mouth opened wide enough so that nothing good could come out.

"No!" I held up both hands. "Rebekah. I'm here to see Damon. Father did not mention that you were coming here, too."

"Father does not know I'm here. I'm not supposed to have a boyfriend until I am in college. And I never to bring them home. Or Father will dig a hole and my boyfriend will reside there from now on." I knew this. I'd heard the speech, many times.

Rebekah sniffed the air. "I smell bacon. I'm going down to breakfast now."

"I'll come with." Stefan said, hopping over to the door as he pried his foot into a shoe while using the shoe-clad foot to propel him forward.

Whirling on her heel, Rebekah shot Stefan a death glare. "I don't want to talk to you. Go away!" she snarled before she tossed her hair over her shoulder, slapping Stefan in the face with it before she made her way toward the stairs.

"God help the poor soul who marries her," I sighed. My eyes went to Stefan who looked like someone had stolen his brain. "Never mind." Moving away from the desperate and confused young male, I continued on my hunt for my friend.

Music poured out from Damon's room. Stopping outside, I noted that new poster which simply stated: Murder is Illegal But Your Body Will Never Be Found If You Knock. Cocking my head to the side, I thought about that for five seconds. Best not to knock then.

Taking hold of the doorknob, I shoved the door open and my eyes widened. My hand went to my eyes before I stumbled backwards and ran into the wall behind me.

"Nik?" Damon's voice called to me.

Shaking my head, I kept my head down. "I did not see anything. Swear I didn't see anything." My eyes were glued to the floor. However, the sight of Elena Gilbert's naked back was still a very vivid memory.

"Klaus?" Elena squeaked from somewhere inside the room. "Oh, no!" she cried.

"Lena, baby, it's okay. It's just Nik. He's not going to tell anyone." Damon tried to reassure Elena as he shut the door and I leaned against the wall, lifting my hand to rub at my eyelids. I really needed to stop seeing one of my close friends straddling my best friend with her top off.

After a long five minutes, Damon re-opened the door. "Hey, man. What's up?" Damon asked me. He had put a shirt on. However, his hair was still disheveled and the little smirk he kept trying to rid himself of told a story I did not need to think about.

Elena tip-toed out into the hall. Her wide brown eyes stayed on the floor. "I'm going to go downstairs. Now." She hurried away from us, tripped over her own feet before running for the stairs.

"Run of shame," Damon said, crossing his arms over his chest. The smirk he'd been working so hard not to display came out in full force. "Nik, you saw that! Right!" He took my arm and jerked me into his room. "High school is amazing!" He held up his hands and a bright smile appeared on his face. "I thought that I would never make it until the girls finally got into high school with us. That was hell. Literal hell. Waiting for two freakin' years… But this… This is worth it! Completely worth it!" He took me by the arms and grinned.

"I… You… You guys weren't… I didn't really see anything… But you weren't… Having…" I felt nervous bringing up the subject because Caroline and I hadn't even talked about sex. We just weren't there at the moment. Add that to the reasons in the I hated Enzo pile. The idea that some other guy might try to… No. I would not think about that.

"We weren't what, Nik?" Damon's brows went up.

"You weren't having sex, were you?" I looked Damon in the eye.

"Nope. Not yet. But we're going to get there soon. No. This was just fooling around. Topless fooling around. My girlfriend is so hot!" Damon let go of me and went over to turn his stereo off. "That's why I put up the sign. If one of the other guys had walked in on us; I would have killed them."

"Then I am glad it was me." In fact I was not happy that I'd walked in on them. I wished I had never seen Elena writhing on top of Damon. I would not be able think of anything else until we found something else for me to focus on. Which brought me to the sole reason I had come over.

"Damon, I have a bit of a dare in mind," I said with a grin.

"Oh, yeah?" Damon nodded. "Cool." He looked at the door. "Should we eat first?"

"Of course." I did not want Caroline to be left alone with Enzo for much longer.

Damon led the way out of his bedroom. Several of the boarding school boys greeted Damon. "Damon," Marcel Gerard greeted him. "Nik."

"Marcel, how good to see you. Prying your eyes away from your books long enough to join us for breakfast?" The more people I could drag downstairs, the less privacy Enzo would have to try to ensnare Caroline's attention.

"I guess." Marcel had a book under his arm.

Damon snatched the book out from under Marcel's arm. "What is this?" he demanded. He glanced at the front of it. "Count of Monte Cristo? Lame!" He shoved the book into Marcel's chest. "We need to find you a girl. You meet Bonnie? She's the most annoying girl I've ever met. Plus, she's single."

"She's interested in someone else!" I snapped, glaring at Damon.

Damon's brows came together. "Okay. Sor-ry. Apparently Nik is planning on hooking her up with someone else. First, I've heard of it. Okay. Who do we know whose single? Sage still with Finn?"

"Yes!" I snapped.

"Fine. Um. Girls who still live in Mystic Falls?" Damon looked thoughtful as we got to the end of the staircase. "Well, Kat will be circling town on her broomstick one of these days. And if you're looking for a psycho; she's right up your alley."

By the wide-eyed, horrified expression on Marcel's face and the way he was clutching his book to his chest; I thought Kat might be a bit much for him. But Kat wasn't the only girl who could scare the crap out of people.

"I said light butter!" Rebekah shouted at Stefan. She took a slice of toast and tossed it at Stefan's head. "Must I do everything myself!" she fumed, making her way toward the doorway of the dining room. "Out of my way!" she snarled at us.

"She's pretty," Marcel said, his eyes moving in the direction Bekah had just stormed off in.

"That's Bekah. My sister." I reminded Marcel. "She's twelve."

"Maybe after she graduates from college you can look her up," Damon suggested. "In the meantime… Lockwood is single."

"Lockwood?" Marcel looked from me to Damon. "Is she nice?"

"Sure," Damon said, not adding that she was a he. Or did Tyler have sisters I never saw?

Making our way into the dining room, I spotted Enzo talking to Caroline while they shared a dish of strawberries. Elena sat on Caroline's other side, playing with a bowl of cereal. The moment she saw me and Damon come in, her cheeks flushed and she slid down in her chair.

Damon seemed oblivious as he made his way over to kiss Elena on the cheek. He then moved to join me and we went to fill a pair of plates with bacon, eggs and home-fried potatoes. Making our way over to the long dining table, Damon claimed the seat on Elena's left. Turning to the other side, I stared at Enzo. "Do you mind?" I asked, nodding at the seat he was in.

Caroline looked from me to Enzo. "No. I don't," Enzo said. Then he turned his back on me and said to Caroline, "How is it that your English class sounds more exciting than mine? Perhaps I should drop by and sit in."

Letting out a giggle, Caroline slapped Enzo's arm. "You couldn't! You'd get in so much trouble."

"It would be worth it," Enzo replied.

I was about to tell Enzo what he had to lose when Damon tapped me on the shoulder. "Take Lena's seat," he said. "Lena, sit on my lap." He patted his thighs.

Elena looked from Damon to the other boys at the table. I could see a few of them glancing at Elena and placing their hands over their mouths to not comment. As they continued, Elena's eyes began to pool. Leaning close to the girl, I whispered, "I dare you not to cry 'til later." Placing a hand on her arm, I squeezed it before I turned to Damon. "Oh, thank you, Damon. I need a seat." Plunking myself on his legs, I wiggled. "Yes. This is how I should sit every day."

A burst of laughter erupted along the table. Caroline's eyes had moved to mine. They were shining with mirth and wonder. She tilted her head and whispered, "Love you," to me.

I smirked and caught sight of Bekah coming into the room. "What's so bloody funny!" she demanded.

"Nothing, Bekah. Come sit with us. Enzo, move!" I snapped at Enzo. Bekah sauntered over to glower at Enzo who vacated his seat next to Caroline. Sometimes I felt so very pleased with Bekah. I should buy her gift, later.

~0~

"What's up, Klaus?" Tyler called out to me as I walked up his driveway. The remainders of the Dare Club followed me.

"Tyler, my good friend, I have a dare for you." Stopping in front of Tyler, I watched him intently.

"'Kay. My parents are at some kind of couple's retreat. 'To save their marriage." Tyler opened the door and went inside. I followed him toward the living room. "You said I needed my laptop for this?"

"Yes. I did," I moved to sit down beside Tyler. Damon grabbed a pillow and plopped down a few feet. He watched me closely because I had yet to tell him what I was up to.

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie sat down on the floor in a semi-circle, waiting to see what I was up to, too. Bekah waltzed over and took a pillow before sitting down beside Damon. Stefan moved to sit next to Bekah until she lifted a hand and he stumbled over to fall beside Caroline. He dusted himself off and moved to sit beside Bonnie.

Kol and Jeremy had made a truce and they took a seat on the other side of Stefan.

Matt was the last one of our group—who would be able to make it- since Elijah had to work. He took a seat to the other side of Tyler.

Now that everyone had taken a seat, I felt like I could announce my plans for the day. "Today, I would like Tyler to show us how to create a website to sell things on."

"Lame," Damon cried. He got to his feet. "Really, Nik? What are we going to do, sell my house? If only. Just get rid of the damned boarding school already. You know it took me three hours to be able to take a shower last night?"

"We could tell yesterday," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes.

Damon opened his mouth and glared at Bonnie. Jumping in before Damon and Bonnie could begin their usual bickering, I spoke up, "Actually, Damon, I have a plan to help you with that. If you can wait for me to finish." My last remark made Damon purse his lips. He looked at the others who just stared back at him.

Shrugging, Damon took a seat. "Continue."

"Thank you." I stood up and looked around me. "Some of you have yet to have a problem with the new school. However, may I remind you all that once a new school begins operation in our fair town they will do things such as create sports teams." I looked at Tyler, Matt, Stefan, Kol and Jeremy. They were looking at each other with worry.

"They might also begin to perform pranks on people…like us," I told them. "We are the only real dare club in this town. However, thanks to Damon's and my own time at the boarding school, there are those who know about the dare club. Those people might choose to make their own. And we all remember what happened when Kat created her own, don't we?"

"Yes," Tyler said. "How's this going to help?"

"Oh, we're going to have a little preemptive strike to make sure these students know who they are dealing with." I smirked. "And who doesn't love puppies?"

Tyler now looked confused. "We're creating a site for puppies? How is that going to put these guys in their places?"

"They are the puppies who are being sold." I smirked.

"We can't sell people!" Bonnie shouted, glaring at me.

"No, love. We're not selling the students. Allow me to explain as Tyler works. Tyler, you know how to find a site to create your own website from scratch, don't you?" I watched Tyler closely.

Nodding, Tyler looked sad. "My parents were so pissed when they found out I was failing computer class, again."

"How could you be failing! We've only been in class for a couple of months!" Caroline cried.

Tyler shrugged. "Forgot to turn in all of my homework. Anyway, I've got a tutor now..." His eyes were on his computer and he clicked away. "You want pictures of puppies?" He asked me.

"Yes." I watched as Tyler found a page for free pics of puppies. "Not all of them have to be cute. Oh, look at this one who's drooling so much."

"That one is an attack dog," Damon pointed out. I found he'd gotten up to peer around me.

"Perfect," I said with a smile.

Tyler glanced at me like I'd lost my mind. "Do you have a printer?" I inquired.

"Sure. It's upstairs. Let me just…" Tyler punched a couple of buttons. "Should be upstairs."

"Wonderful. Thank you, Tyler." I shot to my feet and made my way toward the stairs. I went to Tyler's room and began to collect the photos when I found Caroline in the room.

"Nik, what are you doing?" Caroline asked me, folding her arms over her chest.

Making my way over to her, I placed a hand on her cheek. "It's just a bit of fun, Caroline. Don't worry, love." Giving me a suspicious look, Caroline sighed and allowed me to lead her back downstairs. "Who would like to help place a picture with a person?" I inquired. "Damon, help them by describing personalities, please."

Soon my Dare Clubbers were hard at work figuring out which boarding school students would be matched with which type of dog.

~0~

A heavy sigh came from the desk in front of us. Damon and I sat very still. We did not look at each other. We did not breathe.

"Do you know how difficult it was to convince the parents to not sue us?" Giuseppe demanded, sitting forward in his seat.

"This is our family's second chance, Niklaus." My own Father slapped a hand down on Giuseppe's desk. "We've lost everything before. Do you truly think this was worth it?"

My mind went back to Enzo's name under the picture of the possibly feral German Shepard and I was torn.

We sat through the whole lecture. And when it was through, we were released. A group of the boarding school boys stood outside the door of the headmasters' office. They did not seem too happy with us. Enzo watched me with a lack of expression.

Making our way to the front door, Marcel stopped us. "Thanks for choosing a Lab. Thought you might choose a St. Bernard."

"Oh, Marcel, you worked so hard on your figure. We couldn't pick on you like that," Damon said.

"You're the one who wanted to use a Husky," I pointed out.

Marcel rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Damon."

Damon shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm grounded for a year and my dad said he might make me stay here for school. But I told him it would be a punishment for you guys." He patted Marcel on the shoulder.

Leaving the school, I felt pretty good. I just did not know I just ignited a war with Enzo but I would soon.

Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.

Peace,

-J