Chapter 12: The storm

Present day
New Orleans, Louisiana

Caroline hadn't been to a fancy restaurant in… She came up short as she tried to recall the last time while she and Enzo stepped into the sophisticated bistro.

Perhaps the most recent occasion was while she dated a young chef named Ryan during the last year of college? Or were there ever a one-time-guy that asked her out for dinner before spending the night with her? She was guessing the name of that one lawyer from New York, who had been in Chicago for a weekend and decided to show off his riches at one of the town's most exclusive bistros during his last night, when Enzo cut her thoughts off:

"I believe that is our man." he said as he took her coat.

She followed his eyes over to one of the smaller tables by the windows in the far end of the restaurant. A man in his early-thirties was reading a menu, seemingly sitting alone.

Will Kinney. It had to be him. He looked just like the photos Damon had dug up online, except for the extra year or two having aged his looks… His hair had small hints of the beginning of some salt-and-pepper in the dark hue while his features remained attractive… Had Caroline met this guy at a bar, she wouldn't have minded sharing a conversation or two with him. Or the night.

"Let me try my luck with him while you get us a table." she suggested to Enzo, earning a nod in response.

"What would you prefer, darling?" he asked with a grin as he handed their coats over to one of the staff. "In the center or closer to the windows?"

She rolled her eyes, not being aware that their charade had already begun. "The center. Please." she said and moved some of her hair back over her shoulder to show off her neck. "Thanks sweetie." she mocked before leaving him with the hostess and walking over to the lonely man's table.

As she sashayed through the couples sharing romantic meals, she realized she was searching for something. Or someone. Not finding anyone familiar, she shook the thought off and tried to concentrate on the task at hand; on the man in front of her rather than the one in her thoughts.

"You seem very focused." she said with an innocent tone, leaning a hand on the back of the empty chair on the other side of his table. "Lots of options to choose from?"

The man looked up at her, his eyes widening and his hands immediately putting the menu down. For a moment, he looked like he had seen a ghost before he shook his head slightly. "Sorry, I thought you were an old friend at first." he grimaced and lowered his gaze to stare at the menu again.

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, that sort of a reaction was new. "Well…" she said and took the seat opposite him. "I could be a new one." she smiled playfully.

He looked at her for a moment before raising the menu and continuing to study its content. "Didn't I just see you walk in here with some guy?" he asked nonchalantly. "Husband?"

"You're quite the detective, huh?" she teased and watched his cool façade falter just slightly. Hah, got you! she thought and smiled broadly when he met her eyes again. "I could really use one actually."

"A detective?" he said with a furrow, putting his menu down and shrugging. "Why don't you try making a visit to the local police station?"

"Well…" she grinned. "I hear you're the one to go to. At least with the kind of questions I have."

Raising an eyebrow at her he studied her closely. "And what kind of questions might that be?"

She bit her lower lip and leaned closer to him over the table between them. "The kind that involves vampires."

His face didn't change but his eyes nearly glazed over at the mention. His reaction surprised Caroline… He almost seemed – bored.

"Excuse me?" he said, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

She furrowed her eyebrows and tried again. "I want information on some killings that have occurred in the French Quarter… By vampires."

He didn't seem affected whatsoever, he simply kept looking at her as if expecting something more. Some explanation or something else… But Caroline had no idea what until she connected the look in his eyes with what she'd seen in the past and sighed.

He'd been compelled.

She leaned closer yet and looked deep into his eyes. "You don't need the menu." she told him. "Order seafood, it's the best here."

He nodded slowly at her, her compulsion sinking in and making him raise a hand to call for a waiter immediately. She held it down and kept his eyes locked on hers. Having passed her little test, she then continued her commands; "You are going to forget our conversation and order your meal the moment I walk away from your table. But first I need you to tell me everything you can possibly remember about a case you had a few years back, while you were still working for the New Orleans PD."

He nodded again and awaited further information.

"A streak of dead men, who were bled out and strung up like marionettes all around the French Quarter." she said, repeating the details Damon had cited to her. "The common factor between the victims were that they all looked alike; they were regularly built and Caucasian. All in their late-twenties to early-thirties and with pretty large trust funds… Oh!" she said as she remembered the most important part of the story; "And the corners of their mouths were sliced, you know, like Glasgow-scars."

He shook his head at her. "I don't… I can't… I don't think I know what you're talking about." he stuttered.

"How about the name Lucien Castle? Does that ring a bell?" she asked impatiently but he only shook his head even more aggressively, making her clench her teeth and sigh.

"Fine." she gritted out in defeat. "Nice talking to you." she muttered and stood up, immediately triggering the compulsion on him that would ensure he'd forget ever having met her as she walked away and towards where she spotted Enzo.

He looked expectantly at her as she took a seat at the table he had gotten for them. "Well?" he said, apparently not having kept an ear on her conversation with the ex-detective.

She shook her head. "He's been compelled." she told him. "And not so recently either. My compulsion worked just fine on him now but when I tried to get any information on the murders or when I as much as mentioned the word vampire – it was like his mind went blank and he couldn't even understand what I was saying."

"I suppose that means we won't have such an easy time finding Julian's old serial-killing mate after all then." Enzo muttered and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are we a hundred percent sure that this murderer even is the one who turned Julian?" Caroline asked. "I mean, what if the real person is just running around in … Timbuktu or something; while we waste our time chasing a bunch of loose ends around this Castle-guy?"

"All of our research points in the same direction." Enzo shrugged. "Julian spent the entirety of his newly turned vampire years with the man responsible for these killings, and the main suspect in those investigations was Lucien Castle."

Caroline sighed, noticing a glass of red wine in front of her and immediately taking a large sip of it.

"You are acting very peculiar, gorgeous." Enzo pointed out. "You do want to find Bonnie, correct?"

"Yes, of course I do!" Caroline hissed. "I just don't see why we need to look for Julian's sire when what we should be doing is round up the Heretics and make them help us locate Bonnie instead."

"This man could lead us to Julian and thereby to Bonnie. It is a far better plan than scouring the earth for some witches whom we haven't heard from in years." Enzo protested. "As far as we know; Beau, Norah and Mary-Louise were all killed by Julian when he escaped our spell. Either that or they have been on the run ever since and won't possibly be found unless they come to us first."

She shook her head and finished her glass in one sweep, putting it down on the table and then reaching for Enzo's untouched glass as well.

He grabbed her wrist before she could get ahold of it, drawing her eyes up to his. "Is there another reason why you aren't too keen on this plan taking place in New Orleans?"

Caroline tried to pull her hand away from his grip but failed. "And what would that be?" she scoffed.

"Damon mentioned something." Enzo said slowly and studied her intently. "About there being someone here that might want to see you. An old friend of yours?"

She finally managed to free herself from his hold and stroked her sore wrist while shrugging innocently. "Damon is delusional." she muttered and looked down at the menu before her. "Now, what should we order? Ric said to try the seafood while we're here."

"Caroline." Enzo said, forcing her to meet his eyes again. "Who are you avoiding?"

She shook her head. "No one. Really." she lied and pointed at his menu. "Now hurry up and pick something. I'm starving."

He looked at her for a moment longer before finally giving up and starting to look for the different items on the menu. Caroline knew she might have been able to put the conversation to rest for now, but he was most certainly going to bring it up again.

Question was; should she tell him the truth?


About four years ago

Dallas, Texas

The last few weeks had been rough for the Texans, especially for those living in Dallas without private pools or working air conditioning. A heat-wave had swept through the state and seemed determined to push everyone to the brink of insanity while it crept into its twelfth day of torture. Caroline hadn't experienced anything like it before and quickly found out it wasn't quite to her liking. Everyone were cranky, dazed and sweating, her included.

It only made matters worse that the AC seemed to malfunction on the one day that the library at Dallas Uni was packed to the walls with a long line of students. Aside from the AC, the self-serve desks were out of service too, forcing everyone to wait for one old lady at reception to handle every customer errant for the day.

As Caroline stared up at the clock on the wall above the receptionist's desk, she cursed, swearing up and down that the hands hadn't moved for the past half-hour. She tried to fan herself with one of the thinner books she was holding, wishing she could've returned them days ago.

Today was the deadline and Caroline had promised herself not to try and get ahead by compelling her way through the system anymore. This was her chance to start over after all and she wanted it to work.

Of course, that promise was starting to make less and less sense with every passing minute in the reception area. The air seemed to have completely stopped to a standstill and her skin was covered in sweat, one bead streaming down her back as she realized her tank top must be drenched by now.

"Next!" the old woman called out, making everyone in the line move a step closer. Caroline tried to think of ways to distract herself from her growing impatience, making her listen in on a pair of students further down the line as a name had caught her attention.

"Yeah, I hear Professor Saltzman showed up to American History 201 with sunglasses and the world's worst whiskey-breath ever!"

"Oh my god, he's such a drunk! I totally saw him hiding a flask during my Western Cultures class the other day."

"I had no idea it was that bad, you think the dean knows?"

"If she did, he wouldn't be teaching for much longer. You know how strict she is with that kind of misconduct. Didn't that professor Walker get like life in prison for just flirting with a student that one time?"

"Come on, Amy. People don't get life in prison unless they commit a murder or something."

"Oh, right... Oh my god, maybe professor Walker killed that student! Maybe he rejected her old cougar-flirting and maybe it completely made her, like, lose her mind."

"Oh my god... That would explain so much..."

The sound of a light snap made Caroline realize she had clenched her books too tightly, seeing that one of the hardcovers hade nail-marks and a slight rip embedded into the thick material.

She shook her head to try and slow her heartbeat. Just breathe, Caroline. I know it's been a while since you've fed, and you're really hot and tired and irritated... but a massacre in the school library is so not going to help you fit in here...

"Next!"

As she took another step forward in line, she caught sight of something through the fogged-up windows and immediately froze up.

He may have been covering his face with a phone as he walked down the street, but she would recognize that man anywhere at any time.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was compelling another student in line to return her books for her and rushed out of the library to follow the man. As he turned a corner and studied something in a coffee-shop window, she sped up and stood right behind him in chock.

His eyes met hers in their reflection, making him slowly turn around with his phone lowered from his ear.

"You shouldn't be here." she said coldly, making him push a button on his phone before tucking it away in his shorts pocket. His hair was shorter than she remembered, but his beautiful features and sad blue eyes remained the same after all this time.

"Caroline." he said, barely looking at her face. "I didn't realize you-"

She cut him off by raising the palm of her hand and taking a closer step towards him. " Stefan." she said, his name leaving a poisonous taste in her mouth. "You have exactly one minute to explain why you are here and why I shouldn't kill you right now."

He nodded slowly, seemingly accepting defeat, and looked up at her with guilt in his eyes. "It's going to take more than a minute."

His phone suddenly began ringing, making him hold it up to read the caller ID. The name flashing over his screen made Caroline's heart stop.

"Okay, it's officially 45 seconds now." she told him. "So, I suggest you start with telling me why the hell Elijah Mikaelson is calling you."


Present day

Chicago, Illinois

A smile tugged at Alaric's lips as he read Caroline's message of their safe arrival to New Orleans. But it quickly disappeared when he felt the air shift in the office. His years of training and experience hadn't dulled whatsoever over the inactive years. If anything, he had only become sharper than ever - or rather constantly on edge. But it had its benefits. Especially when the door opened just as he fired his crossbow and hit the intruder in the shoulder. Causing him to stagger on his knees and groan in pain as he wrapped his arms around the wooden spike with a hiss.

"I probably should've known better than to expect that stash in your car to be all of it." he grunted and pulled the piercing wood out, dropping it on the floor as he straightened his clothes.

"You probably should have known better than to try and sneak up on a vampire hunter." Ric scoffed, and a little amused smile played on their lips in unison at that. He quickly shrugged it off and stilled his face again while putting his weapon away. "Don't tell me you're here to squeeze in some college courses, Salvatore. Not to be rude or anything, but you are a few decades too old to be a student, you know."

"Nah, that was way more Stefan's thing." he replied with a strained smirk as he sat on the armchair across his desk and put his feet up in front of him. Crossing his legs as he leaned back with his hands clasped in his lap. "So, my car or yours?"

He glared at the muddy boots that were staining his vintage mahogany desk until the dark-haired man finally sighed and put his feet down on the floor again. "I'm not going, Damon." he stated causally.

"Come on! It'll be just like old times, Ric!" the vampire whined with a playful look in his eyes. "You, me, the open road. Working together. Taking down some douche-bag vampires..."

"I believe I did just that when you walked in here."

The smile of his face was wide and pleased, and it bothered him. It made him feel like he'd played straight into his hands, and he really had no intentions of playing his games.

"You know you're just wasting your time, right?" he said, making his smug face falter enough to ease the irritation in Ric's stomach. "I listened to your story. I even got Caroline to listen too... Hell! She went to New Orleans to get the Mikaelson's help for god's sake! And you're still here, asking for more?"

"I guess I was counting on your stubborn inability to sit idly by when you can actually do something to help." Damon said with a shrug, the accuracy of his claim made him grunt into his palms. Causing him to nearly miss what he said next. "And I wanted to work with you again. I guess. Whatever."

As he lowered his hands slowly, he studied the man in front of him with wide eyes. "So, you want me to drop everything, leave Chicago, drive across the country - and all because you missed me?"

"I never said I missed you alright!" he protested, earning a chuckle in response. "Come on, Ric! I thought maybe you'd be ready to move forward by now."

"Move forward? To what, exactly?"

"To us being friends again!" the vampire exclaimed, standing up and raising his arms in the air in a shrug.

He raised his eyebrows at the temper tantrum and shook his head. "I always knew you were insane, just not how much until now."

"Bonnie is in trouble, alright. If you don't want to do this for me, then at least do it for her. For Elena. Hell, even for Jeremy!"

"Don't." Ric hissed then, glaring at the vampire with bunched up fists. "Don't talk to me about them. Don't try to push your agenda on me, Damon. I'm not falling for it this time."

"Just, listen. Please."

He shook his head before nodding towards him, urging him on. "Talk fast."

"There are some loose ends to take care of that can't be done in New Orleans. And I was really hoping to do all of this in the most effective way possible. Meaning, while Caroline and Enzo are turning to the Originals for help – we have our own roles to play."

"And that would be?"

A smirk showed up on Damon's face then as he gestured to the door behind him. "Your car or mine?"

Ric deliberated silently for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons in his head. He didn't want to fall into more supernatural drama than absolutely necessary… Yet, it seemed the faster he just played his part, the faster they would finally leave him and Caroline alone. They would be free again. With that thought, he nodded and voiced his decision.

"Mine. Let's go."


Present day

New Orleans, Louisiana

The city was beautiful at night, but not very calm. Despite her choosing a hotel across the street from a park, the party crowd still seemed to mark Frenchmen Street as their territory. Caroline had trouble falling asleep already and didn't need the additional loud and drunken singing…

That was the problem with vampirism, you could hear everything happening around you, even when you tried your hardest not to. Which was the main reason why she had fought so hard to get Enzo to agree on them staying in two different hotels.

That's right, they didn't just have separate rooms; they had their own buildings.

But really, it was necessary. Caroline had gotten far too used to living with and around humans that she couldn't imagine having someone hear everything going on in her room from down the hall or even from several floors below her. She needed her privacy, not that she had planned on taking full advantage of it by bringing someone back to her suite… But it was still nice to know that she had the option to do so without the risk of Enzo eavesdropping.

Currently, Caroline had been turning and tossing in her bed for hours without being any closer to sleeping and she had had enough. Back at home, she always used to do some work when she couldn't fall asleep, so she decided to continue the search for answers on her own in the city… Since the sooner that they got what they came here for – the sooner they could leave.

So, she redid her hair and makeup from the dinner with Enzo and took out one of her dresses in her suitcase and followed a group of people outside to some bar with the name Rousseau's.

The different smells of booze and blood blended in the air as Caroline was painfully reminded that it had been quite a while ago since she had fed. Counting the hours in her head, and adding up to nearly two days, she sat down by the bar and ordered two martinis at once.

"Tough day?" the bartender asked, drawing her attention to his very appreciative look on her.

She straightened up and sighed. "Busy day." she whined.

He nodded and added an extra olive to her drink. "I don't believe I've seen you in here before. Tourist?"

"Not exactly... Just trying to find some answers." she admitted, surprised that the hints of a southern accent matched with the calm, green eyes made her open up so easily. Perhaps he got that all the time, being a bartender and a not so-bad-looking one either. That thought made her irritated and Caroline decided she wouldn't feel too bad about playing him right back. "Maybe you could help me out." she said with a smile.

He smiled back, seeming proud of himself. "What would you like to know?" he asked, leaning slightly closer to the bar between them, as if she was telling him a secret that only he could hear.

She played along and leaned closer, a mischievous smile on her lips. "Maybe you could tell me-" she began and moved closer, stretching slightly to whisper close to his ear. "- about the freaky, vampire murderer from the French Quarter."

He flinched and straightened up, staring at her as if she had said something outraging. "Pardon!?"

She raised an eyebrow at his reaction but didn't back down. "You know… The streak of dead men from five years back who were bled out and strung up like marionettes."

The young man stepped back from her and started cleaning a glass, turning his back to her. "What do you know?" he whispered, loud enough for her to just barely hear and therefore telling her he knew a whole lot more about vampires than your regular run-on-the-mill bartender.

"Not much. I'm looking to find out more." she said honestly, studying him closely as he put the clean glass away and finally turned back around to face her.

He wore a grim look before shaking his head. "If you want information about that sort of things… Then you need to ask the King."

The bar seemed to go silent for a short moment before everybody returned to their conversations again. Caroline's breath hitched as she stared at the bartender.

"The King?" she echoed, terrified that she might know what that entailed. Or rather; whom.

"Of New Orleans." he continued. "Marcel Gerard."

Mar-who-now? Caroline thought as she felt a wave of different emotions hit her all at once… Who the hell was Marcel Gerard!? And how on earth could he be "the king" if Klaus –

She suddenly had a thought which she hadn't even considered yet; did that mean Klaus wasn't even in New Orleans anymore?

Realizing the bartender was watching her, she decided to put her mixed emotions and confusing thoughts aside for the time being and pulled herself together. "And how can I find him?"

"You don't, he finds you." he said all-too dramatically, making Caroline raise an incredulous eyebrow. "However…" he then continued. "If you want to catch his attention," he said and nodded over her shoulder. "Go up there."

She followed his look to the other side of the bar, where a stage was set up with instruments and a karaoke machine. Caroline smiled widely at the sight; oh, she was definitely up for that.

"Where do I sign up?" she said with her eyes still locked on the stage.

"Just let me know what you wanna sing and I'll set it up so you can perform as soon as tomorrow." he said.

"Alright." she said and looked over at him. "I know just the song."


Four years ago

Dallas, Texas

Stefan had been in Texas before, several times, but this heat-wave was definitely one for the history books. Although, his companion seemed much more bothered by it than he was.

"Could you explain to me, again, why we are deep into Dante's bloody Southern Inferno in the middle of the hottest time of the year?"

He sighed at Valerie in response, making her shake her head in frustration. "Come on, I know he's here." he told her as he led her through the old warehouse in the industrial parts of Dallas.

"Well, when exactly are you going to tell me who we are meeting in this godforsaken town... Why couldn't we have gone to somewhere cooler... I hear Mars is wonderful in comparison!"

"My friends are the only ones who could possibly track down Julian, so unless you have other ways of finding him..." he waited as she let out a frustrated sigh and nodded in understanding. "That's what I thought."

"We shouldn't be doing this here, Stefan. What if Alaric and Caroline find out-"

Her words get caught in her throat as he suddenly turned to face her with a dark face. "Let me worry about them, you focus on finishing that spell of yours. That was our deal."

"Does that mean you're planning on seeing her?"

He considered it for a moment, studying Valerie as he tried to find the answer. Any answer. "I know she won't meet with me."

"That's not what I asked, and you know it."

He closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. "If despite everything... Caroline still wanted to see me, I'd see her. But I'm not getting my hopes up..."

"Now this is certainly an interesting change of pace, Mr. Salvatore."

The voice made the both of them jump slightly as they turned to a new figure in front of them. "Fret not, Stefan, I have no intention of telling my brother of your new... Endeavors." the man said with a slight smirk as he walked towards them with a hand in his suit jacket.

"Valerie." the Salvatore said as he squared his shoulders and nodded towards their guest. "This is Elijah Mikaelson. From the Original family."

It was clear that she had many questions as she finally met with the man capable of helping them. She stood in silence, seemingly on edge as Elijah spoke again.

"What of your brother, is he here as well?"

"No." Stefan replied.

"Am I right then to assume that you are not in need of my assistance in saving the doppelganger this time?" he asked, glancing over at Valerie as he spoke.

"We're being hunted down by a dangerous vampire." she quickly responded. "We seek protection from him."

"What makes you think I would be able, not to mention willing, to provide you with such a request?" the Original pressed on, making the younger vampire stiffen slightly as he hoped to be able to sway him.

"We have information that could be worthy of a trade."

"Of what sorts?" Elijah asked, his attention directed to his sleeves as he adjusted the cufflinks on them.

Stefan glanced over at Valerie then, nodding to urge her on. Earning a short smile before she spoke. "We know where the Strix are hiding."

The words made the Original still before looking up with a raised eyebrow. "Is that so?" he said with a slow nod, his voice calm and guarded as he walked closer to them again. "Could you tell me then; How have you come across something that I have spent the better part of the year searching for?"

"I know of every coven conjuring any kind of magic on this side of the earth. I ran into them several decades ago and have recently picked up their presence again."

"How?" Elijah said, staring at Valerie with wide eyes. "The Strix is covered by the darkest of powers, only someone of great magic themselves would..." His voice trailed of as he started to recognize something, dread built in Stefan's chest as he watched the Mikaelson put the pieces together.

"You are Valerie Tulle... of the Heretic's Coven." she gulped hard beside him then, fighting not to show any fear as the Original examined her closely. "I thought your kind had been eradicated long ago." Elijah broke the silence, staring at Valerie in awe.

"Formerly yes, but we were all brought back. It's only I and Julian now, however." she explained and looked over at Stefan shortly with a nod. "Julian, he is the man whom we need protection from."

"So…" the younger vampire said then, watching the Mikaelson with narrowed eyes. "Are you interested, or should we turn elsewhere instead?"

Elijah watched them in silence for a moment, taking slow steps as if in deep thought as he turned away slightly. Finally, he stopped and turned fully towards them with a nod. "Let us discuss an agreement."


Present day

New Orleans, Louisiana

"Hi ya'll! How's everyone doin'?"

The crowd of Rousseau's cheered and applauded as the current afternoon's male bartender stood before them at the stage. "I would like to welcome a very special, very beautiful and very new musical guest... The stunning Caroline Forbes." he said and applauded. The people in the bar chimed in politely as Caroline walked over to the mic.

She spotted Enzo in the crowd and grimaced at his sour face. He hadn't been all too happy about her idea to bring attention to herself, but she managed to get him in on the plan so long as he didn't need to sing too. And after having spent all of their second day in New Orleans searching for clues on Lucien Castle – since he most likely was the man they were looking for – and coming up empty… Well, he had started to warm up to the thought of finding Marcel Gerard and possibly having him answer their questions instead.

Caroline thanked the bartender for the introduction and the crowd for the warm welcome and nodded to the band to begin. The song she'd chosen was a new classic, an old Adele song from her last album before she gave up singing back in 2017. 'When We Were Young' – it was a very bold song which had made Caroline anxious, but she figured she had practiced it enough times in the shower back home in Chicago since it was her all-time favorite.

As the music began, Caroline felt the usual butterflies in her stomach trying to make her throw up… But she had learned long ago a good trick for focusing on something else; closing her eyes for a moment and pretending no one was listening to her. This always worked because it made her less anxious about what people might think and more determined to show everyone what she could do.

Caroline decided by the chorus to finally open her eyes. Meeting the crowd as they were dead quiet, everyone watching her intently. But somehow it didn't intimidate her… Because the look on thair faces proved she was doing just fine, and Enzo's stunned expression and wide eyes encouraged her to keep going. As it was soon time for the high notes, the butterflies resurfaced, and she closed her eyes once more and decided to not think and instead just give it all that she had…

For a short second, as the song was finished, the crowd was completely silent. But then they broke out into applause, howls, cheers, whistles and calls. It was absolutely surreal… And even though Caroline was aware she had done well, she still had a hard time swallowing the fact that this reaction was all for her.

"Thank you." she said breathlessly, earning more howls from the audience as they all suddenly stood up for her.

At that point, Caroline suddenly spotted someone in the back of the crowd. A man in-between faces that she could've sworn was… She walked off the stage quickly and begun passing through the still applauding and cheering crowd. Trying to confirm what she'd seen. Enzo suddenly covered her sight though, grabbing her by the arm and grinning widely,

"That was incredible!" he cheered as she still leaned over his shoulder to catch the face once more. But the spot where she first thought she had seen him was now empty. No Hybrid in sight.

Her heart raced, drowning out the sounds from the audience, Enzo's lips moving in front of her but she couldn't concentrate on his words. Everything began to spin. Was he here? Did he see her? Did he know that she was here? Was he waiting for her to show up at his door? Was he hiding from her? Where did he go?

Before she knew what she was doing, she grabbed Enzo's arm tightly and pulled him behind her as she ran out of the bar.

"Caroline, where are we going?" Enzo asked.

She stopped then and looked at him with a hard expression. "I need blood." she breathed out and continued pulling him down the street.

"You were brilliant, Caroline. Absolutely spectacular…" he said as she led them to her hotel. "I cannot believe you've kept this talent of yours hidden for so long…"

"I really don't want to talk about it, okay?" she said before rounding a corner and finally arriving. "Thank god." she sighed and sped them up the stairs to her suite.

"Gorgeous..." Enzo said uncertainly as she began looking for the key in her purse. "Are you feeling well?"

She didn't answer him, instead she unlocked the door the second she got ahold of the key and then blurred inside. Rushing over to the mini-fridge where she had stored a few bags away, she took out all three of them and began digging into one.

"You sure did succeed in your mission to draw attention to yourself." Enzo said and took a seat on the bed as she finished the first bag and started on the next.

"How long has it been?" he asked as she got halfway through.

She froze for a moment before turning around to face him. "Since the last time I sang or since the last time I fed?" she asked.

He only looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Long enough." she mumbled, answering for both. Then she returned to her blood while walking over to the tall French balcony and studied the dark street outside.

"You think it worked?" Caroline asked silently.

"Certainly." Enzo answered.

She nodded. "Good. The important part is that we find answers and get Bonnie back." she said and closed her eyes for a moment. "That's all that matters."