Would any of you guys be interested in me putting up the ''soundtrack'', so to speak, for this story? It's basically what I usually listen to when I'm writing... I like being inspired by music and lyrics :P Let me know :)
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries
The school was hosting a barbecue today, and even though I wasn't obliged to go there for work, I thought I might go anyways. I'd always liked these things, when the whole town came together. It was usually the school that was on the forefront of making that happen, alongside the mayor's family.
While I was strolling through the mass of people, of course I managed to bump into someone. That's the one thing I'm usually focused on when in crowds – keeping my distance, and not touching anyone.
''I'm sorry-'' I began, but fell silent when I saw who it was.
''Hi,'' the pretty blonde greeted me nervously, but smiling.
The avoiding part of me was just about to leave when the other half decided to open its mouth and toss that plan out the window.
''Hey, can I talk to you?'' I thought my voice sounded shaky, but maybe that was only in my mind.
''Yeah, sure,'' Caroline offered me a small smile. We walked together away from the crowd and sat down on a bench.
''So...'' Caroline said and clasped her hands together, placing them in her lap. She sounded very uncomfortable.
My breath hitched in my throat. ''Yeah...'' I mumbled.
''Like I said, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you – I really wasn't myself. I had no idea what was happening to me and no control whatsoever and I know that's horrible... I never wanted to hurt anyone. Do you believe me? And I mean, I'm friends with Elena... and Stefan. And I heard you've been hanging around, and I really don't want it to be awkward or for you to be scared and-''
''Caroline.''
She stopped.
The thing was, that little speech could almost have been enough to convince me. I mean, Caroline Forbes wasn't known to be a quiet person. The fact that she didn't take a deep breath after that long ramble was a little unnerving, but still.
''I'm not... scared anymore...'' The word tasted strange on my tongue. Like it didn't really fit – which it didn't. ''It's more like... I'm weary.''
She nodded vigorously. ''Sure. Sure, I get that.''
''How do you propose we do this?'' I asked her.
She crinkled her nose in concentration for a second. Then she met my eyes, and when I looked down I saw her hand reaching out to me.
''I can't-''
''Oh, right, sorry,'' she looked ashamed and quickly let it fall down to her side. She lifted it up instead. ''Hi, I'm Caroline. I'm a vampire – who doesn't bite!'' she added quickly.
''Caroline,'' I sighed. ''I'm not sure how this is going to work...''
''You can tell I'm trying though, right?''
''Yes...'' I agreed. ''It's just that it's still a bit much, you know?''
''Of course, yeah...'' she looked at me, a tiny smile on her lips. ''I'll let you take your time. Just... please accept my apology?''
''From what I've learned so far about vampires,'' I took a deep breath, ''you went through something really bad. So, yes, I will. But I can't be friends or whatever just yet... you know?''
Caroline nodded. ''Absolutely. Sure. Tipiti-top.'' She closed her eyes. ''Yeah, I'm just gonna go now.''
''I'll see you,'' I offered.
The tiny smile got bigger, and Caroline turned her eyes to me after standing up. ''See you!''
With that, she went off and eventually disappeared into the crowd.
I took a deep breath. I was trying to tell myself that I'd been through worse – but this was hard in a completely different way. Rose, for example, I only had to tolerate – but Caroline clearly wanted us to get along, maybe as friends, eventually. It was just so freaking hard to overlook the fact that she bit me. When I looked at her, I still saw the dark veins under her eyes and the fangs in her mouth.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when my phone rang. It was Elena.
''Hello?''
''Hi, it's Elena.'' She sounded out of breath, almost.
''Has something happened?''
''You could say that...'' she replied slowly. ''Could you come over? I'm at Stefan's.''
''What is it?''
''It's Rose.''
I was a firm believer in treating everyone the way you yourself wished to be treated. With some exceptions, of course. If someone was in the middle of killing me, I wouldn't hesitate to fight myself out of it and letting my instincts take over. But this emotional side of me was practically an instinct too, and that's why I always tried my best to be nice to people.
Apparently, new things happened every day around here. Another werewolf had come to town, because they were searching for Tyler Lockwood's deceased uncle Mason – who'd been killed because he was teamed up with Katherine – and now this wolf was on a vendetta. In the midst of all this, Rose had been attacked. Elena told me that a werewolf bite was fatal to vampires, which meant that Rose...
I swallowed and pulled myself out of my thoughts. Somehow it felt as if I was going on a mission to anoint. I had a hard time understanding how they all kept track of everything that happened them.
Sending a quick text to Elena that I was there, I leaned my bike against a tree outside. When I got to the front door I got a beep telling me that I could just walk in.
It was always strange going into someone else's house without them being there. I figured the bedrooms were upstairs, so I went up to look for Elena.
''I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!''
The agonising moans led me through a hallway and into a large room that was either Stefan's or Damon's. There being nothing there but a bed and a bath, had me thinking it was Damon's.
Elena stood by the edge of the bed talking to Rose, trying to calm the crying woman down. When I entered the room, Rose swirled around in the blink of an eye and stared at me. Her face was grey and her forehead glazed over with sweat.
''You,'' Rose pointed a shaky finger at me. ''Elijah won't forget you.''
I frowned. ''What do you mean?''
''He took an interest in you,'' she said. ''He always aims to know all players in the game, and now you're one of them.''
I gulped, looking to Elena desperate for help, not knowing how to act around Rose when she was this ill. Elena got her to lie down in the bed and began tucking her in under the covers. ''Rose, you need to rest.''
''I'm scared,'' Rose voice sounded meekly from the bed.
''You're not alone,'' Elena promised. ''We're right here.''
''Here,'' Rose sat up a little and looked around with a bewildered look on her face. ''Where's here?''
Elena leaned over and put her hand comfortingly on Rose's shoulder. ''Damon's bedroom. You're in Damon's bedroom.''
Rose started breathing rapidly. ''I want to go home.'' Elena threw a glance at me. She looked tired and like she'd rather be anywhere else then here. Where was Damon? Was Stefan still stuck in the tomb?
''Tell us about it,'' I urged, sitting down on the edge of the bed, trying to get Rose to think happy thoughts. ''Your home.''
Rose stared into nothing, but she had at least calmed down. ''St. Austell,'' she got out after a little while. ''Thirty kilometres south of London.'' She leaned her head back against the pillow. ''All fields and trees and horses.''
''That's beautiful,'' Elena whispered. It did sound nice.
''When you live long enough everything disappears,'' Rose continued bitterly. ''So much time wasted. I just wish I hadn't been so afraid.''
''Can you do something?'' Elena whispered to me. ''With your... you know. Can you make it easier somehow?''
I froze. This was what I'd spent most of my life avoiding, using my abilities. I didn't want to, and every time I did it was an accident.
''Look, I don't know if I...''
I was struggling for words. I'd always thought of it as bad. Every cell in my body instinctively told me not to do anything, because I didn't know if I could control it or not.
But then I heard Rose moan in pain. I looked at Elena and her hopeful dark eyes, and then to Rose lying sick in the bed. A thought popped in my head that maybe, maybe I could help people too. I didn't know if I could focus enough to control it – I'd never given it a proper try before! What if I only ended up making things worse?
For some reason I was brought back to when I'd touched Caroline and she'd collapsed at my feet. ''I might be able to get her to sleep, if she wants,'' I mumbled to Elena. I had no idea how I was able to do it the first time, since it was in the heat of the moment and life-or-death, but I figured that I might as well try. If I could ease her pain then I wanted to, I decided.
I don't think Rose could hear me, but Elena nodded in agreement. ''She needs to rest.''
Taking a deep breath, I moved up a little on the bed so I was closer to her. Before I did anything, I tried my best to calm myself. If I was nervous, then she might feel it too when I touched her. Because I spent more time avoiding touching people than practising to control it when I actually did, I was never quite sure how it would go. I reached out one hand and put it on top of hers. She was already quite calm, but I felt her thoughts clear and they became more of a constant stream rather than mumble jumble. Biting into my lip, I tried to focus on what I wanted. I wanted her to sleep, to rest, and to get an escape from her consciousness for a little while.
I wasn't sure if she actually was asleep until the silence in the room was broken by a soft snore.
''Huh,'' I let out a surprised sound. It actually worked...
Opening my eyes, I looked to Elena – who for once looked baffled at something. I was slowly getting used to her not really reacting to anything with surprise or fear, but this time she actually looked like she couldn't believe her eyes.
''That's amazing,'' she whispered.
''I think it'll hold for a while,'' I chewed my inner cheek. ''Then she'll wake on her own. I haven't really tried this before, but I have a feeling.''
''How do you know what to do?'' Elena asked.
''I don't,'' I admitted, scratching the back of my neck. ''I just had a feeling.''
''It's all feelings with you, huh?'' she chuckled.
''Yup,'' I grimaced. I glanced at Rose. ''Is she okay?''
Elena shook her head gently. ''She's only getting worse. She tried to kill me earlier... thought I was Katherine.''
''Seriously, how do you do this?'' I blurted out, gawking at her.
''At one point you just get used to it,'' she replied, a distant look in her eyes.
''I suppose,'' I mumbled, ''but it isn't it difficult?''
She shrugged. ''It's still all because of me, so...''
''Not everything-'' I began, but Elena interrupted me quickly.
''Hey, it's kind of late. Do you want me to walk you home?''
So she didn't want to talk about it, I got it. We weren't really close yet anyways, so I didn't blame her.
''No,'' I waved her off. ''It's fine, I've got my bike. Thank you though.''
''Be careful?''
I nodded. ''Always am these days.''
It took a while to get home from the Salvatore house. Say what you want about riding a bike, at least it was good exercise.
I had a feeling that Elena didn't like what she'd gotten herself into right now. Or, thrown into, however you want to put it. She said that it was all happening because of her, that it was her fault that everyone around her was in danger. I got that. Not that I agreed with that it was her fault, because she didn't chose her heritage, but I got what she was feeling. Maybe it was because she and all of her friends were so close that they refused to see both sides, I don't know. But getting her, didn't mean that I agreed with her sacrificing herself and whatever else she might have cooked up in her head.
In the upcoming junction I had to turn left to get on a road that would eventually cross with the street where I lived. The only thing lighting the road were some scattered lamp posts, I couldn't see or hear any cars.
I was just about to turn, when I looked ahead of me where the road continued forward.
I crashed surprisingly quietly. The bell rang faintly when my bike hit the ground, but when I landed on the hard asphalt it was like throwing something onto the covers of your bed. I didn't go into shock, and I didn't feel the pain yet – but judging by the feeling of something trickling down my chin I had definitely hurt myself – my only focus was getting up again so that I could see if he was still there.
He wasn't.
But I hadn't hallucinated. I was done thinking that that was what was happening to me. I refused to believe it.
''What do you want...?'' I whispered into the dark. That was about when I started to feel pain radiating from the right side of my face. I gingerly touched it with my hand and winced when I saw tiny trickles of blood on my fingers.
My bike really had taken the fall for me, though. When I leaned down to inspect it, the wheel was all misshapen and I wouldn't be surprised if something had punctured the tube as well. Great, no I had to walk home.
Picking my bike up, I began the slow and stiff and sore-from-falling journey back to my house. Now I had to walk everywhere until I got this fixed, unless I could take the car.
Half-staggering home, I got to thinking. Why was I so interesting? I didn't get it... I had no role in all of this. Why was he following me around, of all people? It was Elena he was here for, so why did he waste his time on me? No matter what Rose had said, I didn't feel like a pawn in a game.
It was an eerie feeling, that a – what, a couple of hundred years at least – vampire could be wherever I went. It wasn't something I felt good about, to put it that way. In fact, it scared the life out of me.
The lights were on when I got home. Right, my mum didn't have the night shift today.
If I bothered to try and sneak by her it would probably make her even more worried than before, so instead of doing that I went straight into the kitchen where she was sitting with her worn out laptop and drinking coffee.
When she heard me come in, I saw her eyes look up, her smile turning into shock when she actually saw me.
''Oh my god, Evangeline!'' she gasped rose quickly and grabbed my face gently to look closer at my cheek. ''What happened?''
I twisted myself away from her for a moment and took at look in the hallway mirror. ''Oh,'' I said surprised. ''It's worse than I thought.''
Falling had gotten me a nasty scrape on my right cheek and part of my chin. By the looks of it there was a bit of gravel, too.
When I turned back to my mum, her mouth was twitching. ''Is someone hurting you?'' she blurted out, her grey eyes boring into mine.
''Oh my god, mum,'' I gaped at her. ''No!''
''Well, what do you expect me to think?'' she exclaimed. ''One minute, you come home after being gone for several days looking like you were run over by a car, and now this?'' She sighed. ''Honey, I can't help but worry.''
''Mum, I fell with my bike,'' I declared in a low voice. ''I swear. I you want proof, the tire's all messed up. I had to walk it home.''
''It's just...'' she murmured. ''I've barely seen you this week and I feel like I don't know how you are, or what you're up to...'' she trailed off. She surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug. ''I love you.''
''I love you too,'' my voice was muffled against her shoulder. When she finally let me go and I could breathe again, she took a closer look at my face.
''Thank god there's not too much gravel,'' she muttered. ''Come on.''
She ushered me towards our downstairs toilet.
''I can do it myself,'' I protested.
''I know. Come on.''
It was probably for the best that I just followed her orders. When my mother went into her work role she was a force to be reckoned with. She was kind, but firm. You didn't object when she told you to do something.
She grabbed a first-aid box we stored in a pantry underneath the staircase on the way. I sat down on the toilet as she started rummaging through it for sanitizer and cotton pads.
Having a nurse for a mum was an experience in itself, but I was used to it by now. She didn't even warn me about the sting, she just started her work. She'd brought a clean sponge and started rubbing out the gravel. Then she ordered me to go to the sink and rinse my face.
''So, is he nice?'' she mumbled whilst padding my face softly with cotton pads.
''Huh? Oh,'' I realised. ''Um... yeah.''
''When can I meet him?'' Hopefully never.
''Well,'' I gulped, not knowing how to answer that. ''Not yet?''
She eyed me closely. ''But you're fine?''
''Yes,'' I breathed out. ''I told you.''
She only hummed in response, getting up to wash her hands.
''You might get a little blue in a day or two,'' she said. ''I would advise against make up.''
''I'm going to look like a ghost, but fine.'' I didn't wear much make up anyways, but whenever I went without a little coverup I always had dark circles underneath my eyes.
''You wanna watch some TV?'' she asked hopefully. I knew she wanted to spend time with me, and I guess I wanted to just be with her and watch some crazy reality show for an hour or two and just get my mind off of things.
If someone were to ask me what normal was, I'd say watching TV with my mum. Because then, we where just a mother and daughter laughing at stupid people on television and there were no strange abilities involved. It was great.
I was sitting by my computer when Elena called me for the second time in one day.
''Rose is dead.''
Sinking down in my chair, I let out a heavy breath. I didn't know what to say, or think.
''I'm sorry for the other day,'' she changed the subject almost immediately, and I to be honest I was a little bit glad that she did.
''I was just mad,'' she continued.
''Don't worry, I get it.''
''I just feel like I can talk to you, you know? It's easy, talking to you.''
I smiled. ''I get that a lot.''
''This is kind of weird, isn't it?'' she asked.
''What?''
''You kind of still feel like our teacher. But you're only what, a couple of years older? So it shouldn't feel so strange.''
''Yeah, I'm kinda feeling that too,'' I admitted with a laugh. ''But I have the last couple of English lessons next week, cause Mrs. Cooper's coming back.''
''Oh, okay... Have you talked to Caroline yet?''
I nodded and immediately sighed at myself. ''Yes, I did.''
''And?''
''I don't know...'' I pondered. ''We'll see.''
''Okay...?''
''I should probably go to bed,'' I cut the conversation short. ''It's been a long day.''
I could hear Elena shuffling with something on her end. ''Yeah, me too.''
We said good night and I hurried to take a quick shower before I buried myself beneath warm covers in my bed.
This day had been crazy. With everything that had happened, all I wanted was to sleep. And for once, I fell asleep quickly.
