Hello, my lovely readers. Romance is the air and that may not be a good thing for a couple of characters. On with the show..
Chapter 7: It's a Coping Mechanism, Really
As general rule, in Caroline's new life as vampire-demon-slayer-thing she tried not to get hung up on things like parties or dating, or having any sort of a life. Not that she had much of any of those things back when she was just "The Slayer of the Vampires," and other things that might try to eat someone's face. Nope. Her big love was a big monster and they didn't think too much about a casual Friday night bowl of popcorn and a movie, or double dates. That would be too normal. Too much like a regular human couple. It was always screaming. Or fighting. Or running from some new threat. Or chasing down a new threat. Or having new threat pop out at them when they did try to do something normal like go to a dance and get run-through with a sword.
So, no, Caroline did not come back to Mystic Falls High to worry about finding a new, normal boyfriend. Until today…
Blowing some hair out of her eyes, Caroline looked across the lunchroom at the table the football team took up. She'd never been that into the jocks. No, Caroline sadly had a thing for the bad boys. Or one bad boy. But she was over that. She had a new life to live. And when Klaus did show up, again, Caroline would kick his ass, buy a new pair of cute shoes and go out on a Friday night with her friends.
"Caroline?" Bonnie waved a hand in front of Caroline's eyes. "Earth to Caroline. Are you alive in there?"
Caroline continued to stare at the table full of jocks until Hayley tossed an orange at her head. "Ow!" Caroline snarled. Her hand shot downward and she threw the offensive piece of fruit back at Hayley who laughed and tossed it at Stefan. He caught it without looking up from their English reading assignment for the week. Then Caroline did a double take at the book in Stefan's hands. "Are you seriously reading Interview with a Vampire?"
"He calls it 'research,'" Hayley said, peeling her orange and shoving a slice into her mouth, talking around it. "I think he has a crush on Lestate."
"I thought he said it was because the vampire in the book might really be based on some variation of Klaus?" Bonnie pointed out, waving a spork at Stefan.
Stefan rolled his eyes. "Bonnie's right. And Anne Rice is a good writer." He flipped a page.
Rolling her eyes, Caroline shook her head. "The last thing I want to think about is Klaus freakin' Mikaelson." Her eyes traveled back to the football player's table.
"You mean cause you still want to bone him?" Hayley asked with a leer.
"Hales, shut up!" Bonnie snapped. "Ignore her, Caroline. She's just a horny kid with no one to play with at the moment."
"Hey! I have plenty of people to play with!" Hayley snapped. "I don't need to live through Caroline's creepy sex antics with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Talked-About." She slid down in her chair and winked at a freshman who walked into the football player's table. The accidental smashing of one's body into hard wood shook the table just enough for a carton of milk to fall into the lap of the linebacker.
"Shit," Caroline groaned. She watched as the linebacker stood up and his hands balled at his sides. "Be back in a moment," she hissed at her table.
"Need back-up?" Hayley called, already moving to her feet.
"No," Caroline snapped. Bonnie lifted a hand and Hayley fell back in her seat with a grumble. Straightening her shoulders, Caroline made her way across the room to save a little human from a human twice his size. Sadly, she needed a release.
But Caroline hesitated when Matt Donovan stood up. "Hey, man. It's just a little spilled milk. You remember what your mom said." His face lit up with a grin that made Caroline's heart pound a little harder in her chest. He moved down the table and came to stand by the freshman. "You okay, man?" he asked.
"Y-y-y-es!" The freshman managed to get out. His eyes were wide, his body convulsed as he looked from Matt to the linebacker who still looked like he wanted nothing more than to shove the boy through the table.
"Cool." Matt placed a light hand on the boy's shoulder and he patted the kid before he turned to the side to make sure the boy would leave without anyone laying a hand on the boy.
Folding her arms over her chest, Caroline shot the linebacker a long look as the freshman hurried away to join some boys who were giving Matt hero-worship looks. A number of other students were also looking at Matt with the hero-worshipful gaze and they were certainly clapping in their heads.
"Why the hell didn't you let me teach that kid a lesson?" the linebacker growled at Matt as he sat back down. "We can't let these idiots think we're going to take their crap."
Matt shrugged. "He didn't do it on purpose. You've got to choose your fights."
The linebacker just rolled his eyes. "Man, you're so lucky you've got that arm, Donovan," he muttered while digging into his mac and cheese.
Letting out a quiet laugh, Matt's eyes moved across the room and he saw Caroline and she realized she was still in fight-mood. Her entire body was taut and her veins coursed with up-spent energy. Matt's gaze was registering confusion but Caroline thought he also looked somewhat intrigued.
Lifting her hand, Caroline offered Matt a quick wave before she turned her back and went to sit down with her friends. "Okay. Guess I'm not needed after all."
"Someone's got a crush," Hayley muttered as she stole French fries from Stefan's tray.
Bonnie smirked at Caroline who rolled her eyes. "Don't start in on me, Bon. You're the one with too many love interests."
"I what –?" Bonnie began when a couch came from somewhere close by.
"Hi," a voice said from Caroline's right.
Head tilting to the side, Caroline looked up to see Matt Donovan looking down at her, his wide sweet smile on his face. Inhaling sharply, Caroline felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest, again. This time for an entirely different reason.
"Caroline, can we talk for a minute?" Matt asked, inclining his head toward the doorway leading out of the cafeteria.
Looking at her friends, Caroline nodded. She got up and grabbed her bag, trying to ignore the stares coming from Bonnie and Hayley as well as the tiniest of movements from Stefan. "Sure," she said as she moved away from her table.
They headed through the cafeteria and Caroline could already hear the whispers around her. "What is he doing with her?" "Freak." "They'd be a hot couple. Wonder if they're looking for a third?" The last part made Caroline's brows shoot upward and she flushed, as they left the room, venturing into the hallway.
"So?" Caroline turned and leaned against a wall, trying and failing to look and feel casual. Over the period of the last six months Caroline and Matt had lost touch. Hell, it had been more like a year. She'd spent so much time with Klaus and obsessing about wanting to murder Klaus that even her time working at the Mystic Grill with Matt meant she was there and not there, not really. Plus, she knew he'd still been hung up on Elena.
"You're alive," Matt said quietly. His eyes lit up and his smile widened. His left hand went to her arm. His fingers grazed the bare skin of her wrist and the look of awe on his face told Caroline that he almost believed she wasn't real.
"Yeah. I guess I am." Caroline shrugged.
Matt's eyes returned to hers. "Bonnie told me that you'd turned." His words came out too quietly for a human to pick up but Caroline heard him loud and clear.
"I did." Caroline nodded.
Now, Matt shook his head. "That's weird. Because you seem more like the Caroline I used to know –" He stopped himself and let out a self-conscious laugh. "That sounds weird." Another shake of his head. Then he held up his hands. "When you started slaying vamps, something about you changed. It was like you began to carry this weight. Like you knew you were marked for…death…" Matt's eyes darkened for a moment as he attempted to explain himself. "And now…you seem lighter. Happier. Maybe?"
"I get it," Caroline nodded. "There was this prophecy –"
"That said Klaus would kill you. I remember," Matt nodded, leaning against the wall and watching Caroline.
"Yup. That one." Caroline shrugged. "Well, it's come to pass. And I figure: 'I'm dead. There's not much else that someone could do to me. It's time to live my life.'" She gave a quick nod, reassuring herself of her own certainty of her words. "No more living under some kind of cloud of fear."
"Cool. I like that." Matt's smile made Caroline feel lighter. "So, in the spirit of moving on… I was wondering if you had plans. For Friday night… You know… In case you'd like to go to a movie or come by my place and watch a movie or we could go to your place and watch a movie, or we could watch a movie at our own places and talk to each other about sometime…" Head falling forward, Matt groaned. "It sounded better in my head."
Laughing, Caroline reached up and placed a hand on his arm. "Matt, it sounded just fine. And I would love to go out to a movie with you this Friday."
"Yeah?" Matt cheered up. "And maybe we could have dinner afterward?"
"At the Grill?" Caroline said.
"Cool." Matt's confidence came back and he pushed off from the wall. "I will call you and you can tell me when to pick you up."
"Alright." Caroline felt her heart humming with delight. She'd just made a date plan with a nice, normal boy to have a nice, normal Friday night date. Life could not get better in Caroline's mind.
Waiting for Matt to rejoin his teammates, Caroline made her way back to her little table with her friends. "Guess who has date plans for Friday night?" she inquired, snagging one of Stefan's remaining fries.
"You," Stefan said, flipping another page. "Klaus is not going to like that."
"Screw Klaus!" Bonnie and Hayley snapped before looking at each other. Bonnie jumped back in first. "Do you know what you're going to wear?"
"Screw that. Tell me you're going to ride the quarterback to a touchdown," Hayley cried, leaning forward and cupping her elbows, a devilish look on her face.
"Hayley, not your business," Caroline snapped. She shook her head at the younger girl who pouted and flopped back in her seat. "We're just planning on going out for dinner at the Grill and to see a movie."
"Lame," Hayley groaned, leaning back in her seat, letting her head fall back so she could stare at the ceiling. "I bet that's why you screwed the vamp, because the humans are boring. Stefan, is sex with a vampire more exciting than sex with a human?"
Stefan finally looked up from his book, "I don't think you need to find out." His eyes went to Caroline who blinked at him. She hadn't thought too much about Stefan having sex with a vampire before turning. He probably did. That's probably why he got turned.
"Fine," Hayley groaned. She looked at Bonnie. "Bon, how is Kol in the sack?"
"Excuse me?" Bonnie's eyes narrowed and Caroline rolled her eyes.
"Hayley, come with me. We're going to train. Obviously you have energy to burn and I have to practice my skills anyway." Honestly, Caroline did not need to practice. She did not worry about being attacked. She knew she could sense Klaus. If he were about to attack, again, she would feel it.
~0~
The sudden motion of a leather bound journal flying through the air to collide with a wall did not give Klaus the sense of satisfaction he'd been seeking. The useless journal met the carpet with a soft flutter of faded pages and barely made a sound in the thick carpet. Klaus' need to destroy something was renewed when he spotted a vase Elijah once offered him as a birthday present. Kol referred to it as a "joke."
Given the resemblance to a woman Klaus had once admired—until she wronged him and he'd had to decapitate her as punishment—was painted along the sides of the vase; it felt reasonable to attack it. Stalking over to the vase, Klaus took hold of it with one hand and whirled around, tossing it at the fireplace.
A hand appeared—where no hand had been in the first place—and stopped the vase's propulsion toward its certain death. "Niklaus, that is how we play with our art." Elijah tutted and Klaus felt his fury continuing to rise as his brother leaned down to pick up the journal. "Ah. I see you've been reading." Brows rising, "Brother Andrew of the Holy Roman Order? Taken up religion as a new hobby?"
Growling, Klaus stalked over to his brother. He jerked the journal out of his brother's hand. "I thought you had a new toy of your own, brother. The new Slayer up to snuff already? Shall I test your training?" Smirking, Klaus kept his back turned to Elijah.
Sighing, Elijah replied, "Why do you have to try my patience, incessantly, Niklaus?"
Klaus strode over to drop the journal on his desk. "Whatever else should I do with my lonely existence?" His eyes rolled upward to take in Elijah's demeanor. "Perhaps I shall play a little game? I will hide the new Slayer and you can attempt to fetch her. If you do not arrive in time; I get to end her?"
Elijah's mouth turned downward. "I thought you wished to defeat Caroline. Or have you forgotten her with your new fixation."
Chuckling, Klaus took a seat at his desk and threw his feet along the edge of it. "You know that I keep my plans on a need-to-know basis." His eyes ticked over to Elijah.
"Right." Elijah pointed a finger at the book. "Wasn't Father Andrew famous for having a charge? A young girl with a remarkable ability? Some said she could fly. Others said she was not human. She could swim through an ocean. Climb a mountain." Walking over to stand in front of Klaus' desk, Elijah began to tap on the hard oak to punctuate his every word, "Defeat the undead." Now his finger stilled and he pursed his lips, staring down at Klaus.
Klaus splayed his fingers under his chin. "Perhaps. Although I always found the idea of this girl to be a bit of a myth. Don't you?"
Shaking his head, Elijah looked around him. "How many other journals have you been reading?"
"Why are you here, Elijah?" Klaus retorted.
Elijah turned and moved to stand with one hand in his pocket. "I hear whispers that The Hunter's Council is sending members to check in on the new Slayer in town. I think it best if you…remove yourself from the equation for the time being."
Now, Klaus felt interested. "Ah. And that is why you've come to see me. Come to warn me off?" Laughing, Klaus got to his feet. He sped around his desk and took hold of Elijah's tie. Taking hold of the knot of his older brother's tie, Klaus straightened it but did not let go as his eyes met Elijah's. "It is not WE who should fear The Council. It is they who should fear US. We are The Original vampires. Do they think they can best us in a fight? They may be legion but we are superior in all things." A little smirk played at the corners of his lips as he watched Elijah continue to frown. "Do not fear, brother, I will protect us all."
Letting go of Elijah's tie, Klaus made his way back to his desk and sat back down. "If that is all, consider me warned."
Elijah shook his head. "One day, Niklaus, you will die from your sheer arrogance." With that lovely sentiment hanging in the air, Elijah took his leave.
Klaus' eyes rolled to the ceiling. If The Hunter's Council was coming to kill him, Klaus felt annoyed. Usually he would enjoy toying with them before ending a few dozen of their little soldiers and then they would scurry back to their headquarters to lick their wounds. However, with Caroline in the picture Klaus did not like the images coming into his mind.
Julian. Spiteful. Cunning. Ruthless. A man after Klaus' own heart. The man's worries over his own legacy would lead him to finding out about Caroline's status as a vampire. This would lead Julian down a dangerous road in which he would become obsessed with ending this new creature. In his line of thought, Caroline would be an abomination. A stain on the whole race of Slayers. Before word could get out of her very existence, Julian would do his utmost to end her.
This was a problem for Klaus because Caroline was his to destroy. With a groan of displeasure, Klaus picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Hello?" a voice said quietly.
"Hello, love. I need you to do me a little favor," Klaus said quietly.
"Oh, yes?" the woman seemed pleased to be hearing from Klaus again. He'd been hoping to avoid having to speak with her since he asked for the last favor.
"How are the books? Everything you'd hoped they would be?" her syrupy tone did not change Klaus' opinion. The woman was a monster of the lowest order. But she could prove useful at times.
"The Hunter's Journals were a welcome sight. Thank you," Klaus said quietly.
"You're very welcome." A pause. "What is it that you'd like from me now?"
"I'd like you to put your ear to the ground love. See if you can find out when the Council intends on leaving for the tiny town of Mystic Falls. And always use discretion," Klaus waited for her reply.
"When do I not?" she retorted with a quiet laugh.
Klaus could think of a few mass human sacrifices in the past three decades attributed to serial killers which would point to an abundance of lack of discretion. However, he kept his mouth shut. "We'll be in touch." Before she could reply, he hung up.
"Niklaus. Just the brother I wanted to see," Kol came into the room and Klaus felt his desire to destroy something returning. "Kol, what is it that you want?"
"Oh, nothing. Just though I would be the bearer of wonderful news." Kol replied clapping his hands as he plopped down in a chair across from Klaus.
Klaus pondered the futile idea of changing the locks. His siblings would find a way past his witches' spells and potions and charms. Perhaps he should simply whip out the daggers and be done with it. They could find out how their friends and lovers met their doom a couple of centuries from now.
"What is it?" Klaus demanded. He's been hoping to get back to his reading. There must be something in one of the bloody Hunter's Journals that would give him a clue to how Caroline turned.
"News to do with Caroline." Kol's smirk widened as Klaus sat up in his chair. "But I can see you're quite anxious to get back to whatever it is I interrupted." Shoving himself into an upright position, Kol turned his back on Klaus and started to leave.
In a flash, Klaus was in front of Kol. His hand slammed around his little brother's neck and he pinned Kol to the top of his desk. "What is it?" Klaus seethed, leaning over Kol and baring his fangs.
Laughing, Kol shrugged. "Caroline has decided to move on with her life. Apparently you're old news. Sorry to be a bearer of bad tidings. Do try not to mess up my shirt. I intend on taking Bonnie on a little rendezvous tonight. Seems romance is in the air."
"What in the bloody hell are you getting at?" Klaus snarled, shaking Kol. "Spit it out."
"Caroline. Has. A. Date." Kol said slowly as if Klaus were simple which earned him being shoved across the desk and into the nearest wall.
Sitting up and looking slightly dazed, Kol shook his head at his torn button-down. "I knew you wouldn't react well to the news, but you should, Nik. It's an opportunity."
"An opportunity?" Klaus scoffed. He was literally seeing red. Blood. He needed blood. He needed to turn. His hands began to shake and he could feel his nails turning into claws. How good it would feel to release the inner beast, to tear something live open to feast on its entrails. "You should leave," Klaus warned Kol, his voice coming out as an inhuman snarl.
"Before you go out to howl at the moon and piss on a tree, listen to this vital bit," Kol said, edging closer to Klaus.
Inhaling, Klaus forced the change to stop and waited. "Her little date is Matt Donovan." Kol watched Klaus, a little smile on his face and his dark eyes showing the monster that lay beneath the surface.
"That name means nothing to me," Klaus retorted. Although it rang a dim bell in the back of his head. He'd heard the name before. Some tiny part of his brain even recalled using it in passing, perhaps, or someone else. Rebekah? Caroline? One of her annoying little friends?
"The quarterback," Kol added. "A human. They're planning a nice, normal human date for this Friday. I'm sure you can clear your diary for that night, can't you?"
Human? Caroline had become a creature of the night and she desired to mate with a mere human? Had she gone mad? Or was this part of the creature she'd become's greater plan? Did it desire to destroy those things that Caroline cared for in her human life?
Turning to Kol, Klaus stared at his brother. "How did you get this information?"
"Oh, it was all Bonnie, Caroline, Elena and Hayley could talk about. Silly, really. Two vampires. A witch. And a Slayer. And all they can talk about is finding the right shoe to go with the handbag." Grinning, Kol shrugged. "I'm sure you can think of a shade of red that will go well with any accessory Caroline chooses."
"Leave." Klaus turned his back on his little brother.
"Sleep well," Kol retorted and then he was gone.
Caroline had lived very little that resembled a human life in the last two years. Why her sudden desire to cling to the past? Shaking his head, Klaus decided he needed to return to his reading.
~0~
Wind blew past Klaus as he slid the window upward. He eased his body inside the room. His feet led him a few feet to his left and his fingers caressed the pillow. Without another thought, he took hold of it and inhaled. Caroline. And not Caroline. He took a seat on the edge of the bed. His eyes moved to rest on the photo beside the bed.
Caroline. Bonnie. Elena. Just three girls with human aspirations. Setting the pillow down, Klaus took the picture frame and flipped it over. He took the back off and slid the photo out. Ripping the section with just Caroline out, he slid the photo into his pocket.
Klaus' eyes swept the room and he pushed himself to his feet. He went to the closet and pushed the doors open. Pushing the clothes that did not interest him aside, he found a box at the bottom of the closet. The unfortunate dress that Caroline tasted death in the first time. Carefully, Klaus removed it. He could smell her blood in the white fabric. With a smile, he closed the box and moved the clothes back into place.
Caroline would wear this dress one more time. And this time it truly would be her last dance.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
-J