edited 6/15/20 :)

"Klaus, baby, come on and say hi!" she chirped.

My stomach dropped as I watched him walk a few paces to where I could see him easily from behind the threshold.

I really regretted not making that blood bag comment to him earlier.

"Hello, I'm Klaus." The seemingly ever present wolfish grin spread across his dimpled cheeks.

"I'm Caroline." I said through my teeth. "It's g-great to finally meet you." I so very badly wanted to scream at him and tell him to leave her alone.

"Likewise, love," His blue-green eyes sparkled at me, and my stomach flipped.

What?! Why did that happen?

I heard Elena's footsteps and I turned to look at her.

Oh, please. Do not invite that monster inside.

"Surprise!" Alyssa chirped as soon as Elena appeared. "I overheard Bonnie say you were doing dinner, so we brought – er -" she looked to her 'boyfriend', who was also empty handed.

"We brought the need to get to know each other more!" his smile was probably supposed to be charming, but to me, it was annoying.

"Oh." Elena said dumbly and Stefan walked up.

"You know," I said before I could help myself, "It's rude to show up unannounced, but it's even ruder when you don't even bring food."

The couple just gawked at me, not exactly knowing what to say.

Stefan set a hand on my shoulder and I watched Klaus' brows furrow for a split second. "What are you doing here, Klaus?"

He smiled. "Waiting for my girlfriend's friend to invite me inside."

Stefan scowled and Alyssa gaped. "OMG! You two know each other? No way!"

"Oh, yeah, you can..." Elena said awkwardly.

"No, no, no. He can't, uh... he can't stay, can you Klaus? Don't have to go hunt some...uh, wolves... tonight?"

By this time, Alyssa had wriggled her way inside. She placed a hand on her hip, and batted her eyelashes at Klaus. "Get in here."

"We're just...finishing up..." Stefan continued to try to discreetly dissuade Elena from letting him in, but it was to no avail.

"It's fine." Elena flashed a small smile and ran a hand through her hair. "Just come on in."

Klaus smirked and watched as his foot passed through the threshold of the Gilbert home. "What a beautiful home you have, Elena." he complimented.

She smiled again, still a bit awkwardly. "Thank you."

Stefan squeezed my shoulder a bit harshly, and I flinched, causing him to immediately remove it.

"Sorry." he murmured under his breath, and then we went into the living-room.

We chatted for a few minutes, Klaus trying to be sly and bringing up some ex-girlfriend or something to bother Stefan. And then there was Alyssa and Elena...ugh.

"Caroline you weren't so lucky today, right?" Elena frowned.

"Yeah! That's what I was thinking!" Alyssa butted in. "It's only because you missed summer camp! Gosh! I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines!"

"I'll work with her. She'll get it!" Bonnie encouraged me, shooting the girls a look. They didn't seem to notice, and Elena started to mumble to herself, already planning.

"We could move her to the back..."

Alyssa nodded and Klaus spoke up, leaving his 'girlfriend' and Elena to mumble to themselves about cheer leading.

"You don't seem like the cheerleading type, love."

I started to open my mouth, but Elena cut me off. "Oh, it's just because her mom died, she didn't take it so well. Plus, her dad is God knows where." she shrugged, and Alyssa nodded sympathetically.

"Right? She's totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun!" Alyssa added.

"We say that with complete sensitivity." both girls nodded vigorously and Bonnie continued to glare at them.

I however, was speechless. Was that really how they thought of me? That I was just going through a blah phase? Perhaps I didn't realize how much my grieving affected my relationship with those around me…

"I'm surprised Elena's still alright, but you weren't as close with your mom, were you?" Alyssa asked, and she shook her head.

"No, we never were that close. They were always working."

The doorbell rang, and Elena jumped up to get it.

Stefan and I met eyes and right before he could get to his feet to go see who else had decided to crash our once small dinner party, we heard the creek of the wooden floor.

Stefan and I both stiffened. Damon and Elena walked into the living room. The three men in the room locked eyes, and I could taste the tension between them. It was uncomfortable.

"Damon." Stefan said, feigning kindness. A girl walked up behind them and my eyes widened.

"And Vicki." he continued. "What a pleasure."

I forced a smile as well and Bonnie smiled, greeting Vicki, and introducing herself to Damon. The couple sat down and Klaus and Damon made eye contact a few times, their eyes darting to Alyssa every few seconds.

Looks like Klaus got Damon's toy. What a pity. I thought sarcastically.

"So," Elena smiles. "We were talking about Care and I, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Alyssa piped up, mostly doing all the talking, as usual. "Elena's parents died – along with Caroline's." she said in a faux whisper, attempting to update the newly arrived guests.

"Oh, that's horrible! I'm sorry girls!" Damon said, pouting. "I know what it's like to lose both your parents, in fact, Stefan and I have watched about every single person we've ever cared about die." he wiped his eyes dramatically and leaned back, tossing an arm over Vicki's shoulders. She leaned into his touch, but I looked towards her eyes. The poor girl looked scared shitless!

Damon must be compelling her. I realized, a surge of dislike for Damon rising up.

"We don't need to get into family problems now do we?" Klaus spoke. "I think both of our families have enough to last lifetimes."

"Oh, you know what, you're right." The elder Salvatore smirked, looking to his brother and Elena now, "I'm sorry, Stef." Damon was laying on his so-called charm thick. "The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up...mmmm" he shook his head, as if chiding himself.

Alyssa must have caught onto the hints about whoever 'her' was. "Who? Even Klaus said something about a her." she looked to the younger brother. "Your ex-girlfriend died?"

"Alyssa." Bonnie hissed through her teeth.

"Yeah, shush." Elena agreed for once.

She blushed crimson and Stefan spoke before his brother could 'stuff his foot into his mouth' any further. "It's no big deal. She was my girlfriend one point, and she died in a fire. This was years ago. End of story." he shrugged nonchalantly.

We chatted idly until Elena and Alyssa excused themselves to go upstairs and Bonnie and I go into the kitchen to do the dishes.

I turned the water on and started to wash plates. "I can't believe Vicki is with Damon," I murmured, hoping the vampires couldn't hear me due to the running water.

Bonnie nods. "It's strange. I remember Matt saying to Tyler how she was terrified of him at first, once she saw him at the grill. Afterwards she seemed to be okay with him." she smiled. "You should have seen Lockwood's face. Pure rage." she looked towards the staircase. "Jeremy is probably mad too. Didn't they have some 'thing' going on? I remember seeing them talking occasionally."

I nodded, confirming the 'thing'. We continued to wash dishes until Bonnie's phone rang. It was her dad, telling her it was time for her to come home and finish the homework he found in her backpack.

I shut off the water, giving Bonnie a hug. "Bye Bon. I'll tell Elena and Alyssa good-bye for you if you'd like."

She hugged me back but kindly declined my offer. "S'okay. I'll run up there and see them before I leave."

She dried her hands off on the towel and I heard her tell the boys and Vicki that she would see them around.

I then begun to dry off dishes and put them away. I noticed a figure walk into the room out of the corner of my eye. I looked up to see Damon holding a glass.

"One more." he murmured, handing it to me.

"Oh, thanks. Must've missed it." he purposely dropped it, but caught it before it hit the floor.

Show off.

"Nice save." I mumbled sarcastically, forcing a smile onto my face. I found myself chuckling, imagining Damon's embarrassment if he had missed the glass.

He smirked at me, helping me dry the last couple of dishes. "I like you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You know how to laugh. You and Elena make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time." he finished.

I rolled my eyes. "Glad to know I could be of some use to your immortal lives."

Before Damon could retort, Elena walked into the kitchen.

The corner of his lips quirked up as Elena asked, "Earlier, who were you talking about?"

His ice-blue eyes got a faraway look in them for a moment. "I'm sure you've heard about Katherine."

When she shook her head, he continued. "She was this girl, this bitchy, yet attractive girl. She was very complicated and selfish, normally not very kind, but very sexy and seductive. You'd have to ask Klaus about which one of them spent more time with her, though."

Elena's forehead creased at this revelation, and I wondered what she was thinking.

Damon surely was just trying to complicate things in his little brother's life. I assumed he knew that Elena didn't know the truth about them.

She crossed her arms for a moment. "Thank you, Damon."

Elena suddenly departed the kitchen and I could hear her run up the stairs, back to Alyssa I assumed.

The room was silent for a few more moments, but the silence was replaced with a strange sort of energy when Klaus entered the room.

"What did you say to Elena?" Klaus asked. "Alyssa was just about to come downstairs before Elena went back up to her."

Damon tossed the towel onto the counter and shrugged. "I just told her about Katherine, is all."

Klaus cocked an eyebrow.

"I'd quit cheerleading if I were you." Damon murmured suddenly, and I raised an eyebrow in unison.

"Why do you say that?"

Damon shrugged. "I saw you at practice, you looked annoyed and confused."

Klaus decided to not comment on Damon's interference in his younger brother's relationship. "I'm going to have to agree with Damon on this one." He said instead.

"You saw that?" I put away the last glass and wiped my damp hands off on my jeans.

"Is it wrong?" Damon countered.

I sighed. "I used to love it, all the jumps and cheers, it was a blast." I shook my head, staring at a fixed point on the wall. "Everything's changed this year. Stuff that used to matter, doesn't. It's like I'm a new person."

"Quit, move on." Klaus offered.

"Problem solved." Damon picked the towel back up off the counter, spun the rag around in a circle and playfully hit my leg with it. "Ta da!"

"Some things could matter again, though. What if I quit, and regret it later?"

"Seems unrealistic to me, luv." Klaus shrugged.

Silence filled the room and I grappled for ideas on what to say next. Both men seemed to be in a relaxed mood, and I theorized that if I had any curious questions to ask, now would be the time to ask them.

"What did you mean, Damon, when you said Elena would have to ask Klaus on who spent more time with Katherine?"

Klaus snorted. "I wasn't involved with Katari – Katherine in that way."

Damon smirked, reminiscing for a bit. "That's right, you had a thing for Chandra, didn't you?"

He stiffened visibly, and I could have sworn I heard him growl. I must have looked a bit confused, because he continued.

"Ah, yes," Damon smirked. "Chandra Ambrose." he whistled. "What a girl."

"I'd ask you to stop talking about my past, but I know it wouldn't do any good." Klaus's fists tightened and I hoped he could stay in control.

"She used to accompany Katherine where ever she went." he smirked, his eyes looking far away again.

A new presence paused our conversation and I was a bit annoyed as Vicki walked in.

Oh well, I guess I got some information. Maybe Stefan could shed some more light on it later, or maybe I could try to weasel more information out of these two another time.

"Hey." Vicki said, smiling slightly. "Do you all need some help?"

Klaus smirked. "Sure, love, why not?"

I walked past them into the living room to find Alyssa sitting with Stefan, chatting.

"Hey guys." I smiled and sat on the recliner. "Where's Elena?"

"She's upstairs still, think she ate something bad." Alyssa shrugged. "She locked herself in the bathroom."

Poor Elena, I thought, wondering if the conversation with Damon and Klaus had upset her that much.

Seemingly unbeknownst to Alysa, Stefan had been staring at her new fashion accessory for what was probably the duration of the conversation.

Was she really that much of an airhead or was it something else?

"That's a really nice scarf." I said. And it was really actually pretty.

"Can I see it? I mean would you mind taking it off?" Stefan asked, a strange look on his face.

"Oh." she chuckled. "I can't."

"Why?" I asked, and Stefan asked the question that I was about to ask next.

"You okay?"

Her eyes clouded over, looking confused and lost. "All I know is that I can't take it off."

"Hey guys, what are you up to?" Klaus asked, marking his arrival back into the living room, hiding his obvious suspicion poorly.

"Stefan and I were just admiring her scarf, is all." I explained.

"Hmm." Klaus mused, eyeing me suddenly. "Hey, you know, um, Elena is upstairs sick. Maybe you both should go see if she's okay."

"We aren't that close, and I have a weak stomach." I looked at Stefan, whose face was blank.

"For me?" he smirked down at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Is that supposed to persuade me?"

Alyssa had already jumped up and her steps thudded up the stairs.

Klaus attempted to lock his green-blue eyes onto me, the pupils shrinking and enlarging. I realized he was attempting to compel me.

"Go check on Elena, Caroline."

I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Make me." I said brazenly. "Oh wait, you tried that, you can't."

He growled, taking a step closer to me. Stefan stood up, warily.

"I figured they had you on vervain, but this just proves my theory." The eldest vampire snidely said.

"Go on, Caroline, I'll be fine." Stefan said gently.

I glared at Klaus before turning on my heel to oblige.

I walked towards the stairs and walked most of the way up before stopping.

I trained my ears towards the living-room and listened in closely.

It was to no avail in the beginning, as someone – I was assuming Klaus – turned the news on and turned it up to drone out whatever conversation they were having.

A few moments passed, and I willed myself to be confident enough to crawl down a few steps as quietly as possible. Once I got as far enough down as I could, I was able to make out most of what they were saying.

"She's a person Klaus, they - are. They don't exist for you to order them around – or to feed on whenever you feel like getting a drink." I heard Stefan chide him.

"Riiiight." I heard a chuckle and the footsteps of someone else faintly.

"What are - - bickering about now?" Damon asked.

"Just reminding Klaus – and now you – that people don't exist for our amusement." Stefan said as a matter of factly.

Someone snorted and I heard Damon say, "Sure they do. They're ours for the taking."

Stefan – obviously – sighed and said. "Alright you've had your fun, brother." The tv shut off, and I froze in place. "You used Vicki, got to meet my new girlfriend, good for you. Now it's time for us to go home." he paused before calling my name.

"CAROLINE, WE'RE LEAVING."

"And you said they don't exist for us to order them around." I heard another chuckle.

"That's not a problem." I heard Damon say. "I've been invited in. If I want to come back tomorrow night, and the next night and have fun with your little cheerleader, I will. That's normal to me."

Stefan growled as Damon continued.

"Or, I could just have some fun with our Blondie, if you'd like."

Suddenly, a ruckus came from where the guys were talking.

"Woah." I mumbled, walking around the corner. "Did I interrupt something?"

Damon seemed to have just picked himself up from being slammed against the wall, if I had to guess, looking at the crooked picture frames.

"No, Blondie, you didn't." Damon smirked, adjusting his shirt. "Vicki!" he called into the kitchen.

I looked around; realizing Klaus was nowhere to be found.

Was he the one who'd shoved Damon? I wondered.

Vicki walked back into the living room and around that same time, we heard Alyssa and Elena come back downstairs.

"Nikki?" Alyssa called, peeking around the corner.

"He- uh – he went home, Alyssa," Stefan explained, pressing his lips together and giving a curt nod.

"Oh," Alyssa frowned, patting her pockets. "I still have my car keys though…"

"We leaving?" Vicki cut in, grinning a bit stupidly.

"Yes we are," Damon declared, grabbing his dark jacket from over the couch, swinging it over his shoulder.

He saluted Elena, gave Stefan a mischievous smile and when he got to me…well let's just say that mischievous smile turned into a full blown signature Damon smirk.

~0~

The next day…

Dear Diary,

I ended up going to Elena's dinner party yesterday…what was supposed to just be her, myself, Stefan and Bonnie ended up with Klaus, Alyssa, Damon and Vicki there as well.

I recapped that night's events, debating how I was feeling about everything.

Stefan told me earlier that he was going to give Katherine's old necklace to Elena to protect her from Damon, in case he decides to try something. I wish I would have gotten more time to learn more about the Salvatore Brother's past the other night. Maybe I can ask Stefan about it. I'm honestly a little too nervous to ask Damon – that's if he would even tell me the truth IF I got the guts to ask…

I can't believe I'm even writing this, but I've decided to take Damon and Klaus' advice... I'm quitting cheerleading. My mom always wanted me to do it, but it's never really been my thing. I think she would respect my decision to do this, so I'm not feeling too guilty. Speaking of football, Stefan finally got onto the team, Elena and Bonnie wanted me to go to the game tonight, so I guess I better go.

Caroline

The next night..

Dear Diary,

Elena almost saw Stefan's advanced healing today. Stef and I have gotten closer, he seems to trust me, which is good. Trust is key in any relationship I guess.

Romantic or not.

Bonnie's witch mojo is going crazy still. She's had some numbers stuck in her head since yesterday. She told Elena and I the feeling was like...death. Which isn't all the surprising, but how could Bonnie know about...them? Could she know?

Wait until I tell you what Damon did yesterday…

~Flashback~

The crunch of the gravel under my sneakers was almost drowned out by the chatter of the stadium behind me. I was headed to Elena's car to get her cheer bag for her.

Where did she park? I squinted in the dimly lit lot, wishing our school would install more lights back here. It was kind of creepy.

Holding up her car key, I pressed the unlock button a few times; desperate for a click or flashing headlights or something that would give me an indication of the car.

Her gray-ish blue SUV chirped a couple spots down and I sighed.

Finally!

I had just about made it to the trunk when I suddenly had the sinking suspicion that I suddenly was not alone out there. The hairs on my arms stood on end. Gripping the pointy part of the key between my pointer and middle finger, I whirled around.

Damon. He was inches away, if I would have taken a step backwards before turning around, I would have probably bumped into his chest.

"Jesus, Damon! Can you try to not sneak up on me like that? What are you doing back here?"

He smirked slyly. "I'm hiding from Vicki. She's sky high." he chuckled to himself.

"Why are you out here being all…" I gestured to the dark parking lot. "Creepy?"

"I needed a break." He scooted a bit closer, hands in his pockets.

"Sounds to me like you're just bored," I retorted, stepping a bit closer to the car.

Against my instincts, but not wanting Damon to know how he was affecting me, I turned my back on the vampire to open the back window and remove the duffel.

Shutting the window with a soft clunk, I turned back around. "That could be a sign."

He shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Y'know…she's not what I pegged to be 'your type'," I pointed out, not wanting to outright say that I knew he was just compelling her and probably only using her for a distraction…and other things that I did not want to think about.

He hummed, staring down at me with his signature smirk. "And what do you think 'my type' is? You?"

I scoffed, "I never said that."

"You're right." he grinned devilishly. "But you don't have to."

I rolled my eyes. "Really?" Sarcasm dripped off my voice like honey. I crossed my arms across my chest. "I think your type is anythingeasy and compellable. You don't have the humanity to actually care about someone that deeply."

Damon snorted. "You would think that."

I picked up the duffel by the longest strap, heaving it over my shoulder.

"But you're only saying that because I get to you." he whispered, getting into my personal space yet again. "You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to." his annoying smirk widened. "I bet you even...dream...about me."

I simply said nothing, curious as to where he was going with this. Like, how full of shit was he?

"And now," he said, trying – and failing – to be seductive, "You want to kiss-" I saw his pupils changing and I reacted before he could finish.

This moron thought he could compel me? Seriously?

My hands met his chest and I pushed him, hard. To my surprise, he stumbled back, looking annoyed.

"Stefan got to you." he mumbled, rubbing his chest. "Feisty, aren't ya?"

His dark eyes darted down to my neck. I was wearing a crew neck top, but I was pretty sure he could make out the glint of the silver chain that peeked out around the collar.

"What the hell?" I bit out, anger flaring. "I don't know what shizz you're trying to pull with me, but I want NO part of it. I don't know what happened in the past, with you, Klaus, and Stefan, but I'd appreciate it if you would remember one thing. I am NOT Katherine or Chandra, or whatever other ex you guys passed around!" I glared at him. "You need to be more like Stefan, he has humanity."

"Humanity makes you weak, human." he snarled and I rolled my eyes. I locked the car and stormed away, leaving an annoyed Damon in the dust.

~End of Flashback.~

Sometimes – no, wait – all the time – I want to rip his head off.

Tyler, Matt and Stefan are getting along now, which is good.

Oh yeah, and something absolutely tragic happened that night. Someone killed Coach Tanner. He was an asshole, but I don't think anyone really deserves to die... I wouldn't be surprised if Damon killed him. He was already far off his rocker, and I probably just made him worse.

Caroline

Third Person POV

A dark haired figure stood over the pretty blonde's bed. He stared down at her, oblivious to the wolf in the forest also staring up at the same girl's room. His long arm reached down and stroked her face, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. She rolled over in her sleep, groaning sleepily. A real smile drifted across his lips and he bent down, pressing a kiss on her forehead. He knew this girl had spunk. He liked that about her.

They both did.

He turned and left the room without a sound, shutting the door behind him.