Hello, readers. Review answers are at the end as usual. I'm not feeling well so the answers will be short. On with the show…
Chapter 13: Where the Sun Don't Shine
Sucking in a deep breath, Caroline walked out of one of the bedrooms of the Salvatore Boarding house. "Good morning," Stefan called and Caroline sighed. She thought vampires couldn't sneak up on each other but apparently they could.
"Hey, Stef," Caroline said, running a hand through her hair.
"Are you ready to go out and play?" Stefan asked lightly. Caroline had been stuck in the house all of Friday and Saturday. Staring at the four walls was driving her nuts.
"How?" Caroline asked. She had yet to receive the much talked about daylight ring Stefan had told her would keep her from burning up in the sun's rays.
Smiling, Stefan pulled out something from behind his back. Holding out the tiny box, he watched Caroline as she took the box pulling the ribbon and the top off. "Oh," Caroline looked down at the ring and Stefan pulled it out. He slipped in onto her left index finger. Caroline inhaled deeply, feeling like Stefan's movements held more meaning than she would prefer to think about at the moment.
Trying to lighten the mood, Stefan grinned. "Last one downstairs has to do the laundry," he called before vamp speeding down the stairs.
"Cheater!" Caroline accused as she ran after him. "Oh! Ow. Stefan! I fell down the stairs!" Caroline screamed in pain.
Stefan came running back and Caroline tripped him before running for the door. She almost had it open when Stefan's body slammed into hers, knocking her into the wood. "Ouch!" Caroline cried out.
"That's what you get for crying wolf," Stefan told her, turning her around and pinning her arms above her head.
"You cheated," Caroline accused him out of breath which was a funny saying since vampires didn't need to breathe, Caroline thought, trying to not focus on her friend, who was staring at her in a more than friendly way.
"Caroline," Stefan whispered his face, moving closer to hers.
"Stefan. Stop. We need to go hunting. Remember?" Caroline reminded him gently. "You promised me you would teach me how to chase down cartoon characters instead of trying to feast on my friends."
Stefan sighed and then let her go. "Yeah. You're right. Let's go kill something."
"That sounded very Damon like," Caroline informed her friend. "Maybe you need a drink with a bunny chaser."
Stefan shook his head but smiled. "Yeah. But we'll have to catch the carrot eater first which means we have to get out of the house." Looking at Caroline, Stefan's eyebrows rose. Caroline realized she was in front of the door and blushed.
"Yes, moving would be a good thing." Stepping aside, Caroline watched Stefan open the door and wave for her to go first with a slight bow.
Smiling, Caroline took a tentative step outside and then began to run toward the wooded area as Stefan chased her. "This is awesome," Caroline shouted, speeding through the trees when Stefan grabbed her by the waist and held her still.
"Shush. Do you hear that?" Caroline closed her eyes and listened to the sounds around her. Then she heard the light crunch of twigs.
"Deer," Caroline said, opening her eyes and then narrowing them, feeling the predator's instinct take over.
"Yup. We have to be quiet if we want to catch it." Stefan told her as they tracked the deer and Caroline felt thrilled as they moved slowly toward the animal. There was a time that after watching Bambi she would have cried at the sight of deer. At this moment all she wanted was to sink her teeth into it.
"Okay. Go!" Stefan called and Caroline sped forward, grabbing the animal and twisting its neck to make the death swift. She may be a predator now but she did not want make the creature suffer. Sinking her teeth in, she felt somewhat dissatisfied at the taste. It didn't have tenth of the sweetness of the man's blood she had attacked days ago.
Letting the deer drop to the ground, Caroline wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Do you want more?" Stefan asked and Caroline shook her head, hoping the disgust did not appear on her face as strongly as she felt it.
"Cool. I'm going to go catch a rabbit," Stefan said as he ran off. Caroline sucked in a deep breath sitting down on a rock. She pulled out her phone. Staring at it dully, she began to scroll through various missed calls. Damon had compelled her teachers to believe she had to stay out of school for a little bit longer.
That did not take care of her friends, who kept e-mailing, texting and calling. Everyone except for Klaus. He hadn't even tried to leave one message. Caroline wondered if he had gotten up the next morning with the satisfaction that he successfully deflowered the virgin and had waltzed back to his apartment to check her off his long, long list.
Feeling hot tears fill her eyes, Caroline brushed them away angrily. Stefan came out of the woods with a bunny. "Bunny chaser?" He asked with a crocked smile and they began to walk back to the house.
"How long do you think I'll need to stay here before I go back to my old life?" Caroline asked, staring ahead of her, frowning.
"That all depends on you, Caroline. You're the only one who knows if you're strong enough to handle the urges because I won't always be there to stop you," Stefan told her seriously.
Caroline smirked, "But you're in most of my classes. That way you babysit me most of the time."
"Yeah, because all I have to do with my undead life is to watch you. Right? Would you like me to go shopping with you, too?" Stefan joked.
Clapping her hands together, Caroline laughed. "Yes, and we can go to the hair dresser's. We can get mani pedis together."
"No!" Stefan protested. "Damon had enough ammunition. I am not giving him more."
"Come on, Stef," Caroline grabbed his arm. "It'll be so much fun."
"No!" Stefan yelled, dropping the rabbit, trying to pull his arm away as they arrived in front of the door. "Leave me alone, woman. You just made me drop dinner on the ground. Now, you can do the laundry and clean the rabbit, too."
"No!" Caroline yelled as they walked through the door. "I am not playing with your food. Damon said there are blood bags. You can freakin' clean your own rabbit."
"What? You don't like my little friend?" Stefan waved the rabbit at her and Caroline gagged. "Yuck. Stop. Take it away."
"But he likes you. He wants to give you kisses," Stefan tried to touch her with the dead rabbit and Caroline screamed. "Stefan, my God. Are you sure you didn't switch bodies with Damon? Keep that thing to yourself."
Stefan relented, "Alright. Maybe that is a little gross. Off to the drainage system for you?" He told the rabbit. "Do you want rabbit stew? You can eat people food because it helps with the cravings," Stefan called and Caroline wrinkled her nose.
"Can we get a pizza?" Caroline called back.
"Whatever you desire since you're the guest. You don't plan on eating the delivery guy, are you, cause then I get to point out how Damon like that would be?" Stefan informed Caroline as he came back in the other room.
"Ugh, you smell like that rabbit," Caroline wrinkled her nose.
Stefan shook his head with a wide grin. "Oh, come on, Care. This smells wonderful. Come here and give me a big hug."
"No!" Caroline shouted at him as he chased her up the stairs and caught her just outside her bedroom. They fell on the floor because she kept wiggling and knocked them down. "Oh," Caroline cried. "That stinks so bad and now I smell like it, too. Thanks, Stef. I'm going to shower and you need to, too." Shoving him out the door, Caroline went into her room and took a shower. Coming out in a towel, she remembered no one had done the laundry and she had nothing to change into. "Argh." Walking out into the hall, she heard a noise downstairs and went running down. "Damon!" Caroline called brightly and then her jaw dropped. "Elena? What are you doing here?"
Elena looked just as surprised to see Caroline. "I came over to talk to Damon because we had plans and he disappeared. What are you doing here? And where have you been?" Elena was frowning as she looked at the towel draped around Caroline's body. "Is Damon here? Damon?" Elena shouted angrily and then stopped.
Caroline turned around to see Stefan coming down the stairs toweling his hair off. "Hey, Lena. Damon isn't home. But I can tell him you stopped by. Or you can stay if you'd like. Care and I were about to call out for pizza."
"I… ummm… I need to… ummm… go," Elena looked uncomfortable as she looked from Caroline to Stefan. "I will see you guys in class tomorrow or whenever you stop having sex. I mean whenever you… I …. Bye."
"Elena," Caroline shouted as Elena ran out of the house. "That is just great. She's going to text Bonnie who will tell Kol who will blab to Bekah and then she'll tell Klaus that we had sex."
"Caroline," Stefan yelled at her.
"Yes," Caroline replied, trying to calm down.
"So what?" Stefan stated calmly, his hands on his hips looking a little bit like Rebekah.
"So What?!" Caroline shouted back at him. "SO, I do NOT want my boyfriend thinking I disappeared to have sex with my best friend."
"If he trusts you, he'll wait for you to tell him what happened or didn't happen," Stefan stated coolly. "Rather than listen to a rumor. After all, you seem to be the wonder couple at getting over you problems no matter how much like crap he treats you."
"Klaus does not treat me like crap!" Caroline shouted.
"Yeah, he does," Stefan shouted back, striding toward her. "He hasn't even talked to you once since you two went to bed, has he?" Stefan yelled at Caroline. "He has your phone number. Hell, he could have stopped by and tried to find out if Damon or I had heard from you. You could be dead for all he knows. Come to think of it you are dead."
"You are an ass, Stefan Salvatore. What, are you in competition with your brother for who can make people feel worse?" Caroline yelled as tears began to stream down her cheeks.
"I don't care if you think I'm an ass. I think you're an ass for putting up with his shit," Stefan bellowed and then he grabbed Caroline. He kissed her putting an end to the arguing.
When Stefan pulled away, Caroline slapped him across the face. "Don't ever do that again," she snarled. Turning away, she ran up the stairs and started to slam the door when Stefan appeared. He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her again. Pulling her body flush against his and Caroline thought about Klaus. She thought about his bad boy rep. She thought about his arms wrapped around another girl at that exact moment and then she pushed Stefan back.
"Stefan, I love you," Caroline said quietly. "I just don't love you the way you ought to be loved. I'm sorry. We can't do this. It doesn't matter what kind of guy, Klaus is. I'm not that girl who gets angry and jumps into someone else's bed."
Stefan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, too, Care. I shouldn't have pushed you like that. So, you want me to go downstairs and order that pizza?"
Caroline shook her head. "I think I'm ready to go home," she told him and he nodded.
"I'll drive you," Stefan told her, walking across the hallway.
"Thanks," Caroline whispered, knowing he would hear. She closed the door and pulled her clothes on. Picking up her things, she shoved them into her bag and then she walked out into the hallway.
Caroline and Stefan got into his car and were quiet during the ride. She couldn't think of a single time when things were this tense between them in the entire time they had been friends. When Stefan pulled up in front of the dorm, he didn't try to hug her. He didn't even get out of the car. "Bye, Stef," Caroline called as he drove away.
Trudging up the steps, Caroline walked up to her door and inserted her key. Since it was a Sunday she didn't expect either of her roommates to be at home. Pushing the door open, Caroline was shocked to see both Rebekah and Hayley sitting on Hayley's bed doing homework.
Rebekah just stared at Caroline with a look of icy disdain. Obviously she had spoken to Elena. Hayley got off the bed. She strode over to Caroline and glared. "Where in hell have you been?" Hayley yelled.
"She's been somewhere which was much more important to her than telling her roommates that she was alive and safe," Rebekah muttered, staring at her nails and her face tinged red.
Caroline walked over to Rebekah. "Bekah," Caroline came over and wrapped her arms around Rebekah, who wiped a tear away. Then Rebekah wrapped her arms around Caroline.
"With all these stupid supernatural nasties roaming about the least you could do is bloody well ring a girl up and tell her that you weren't a snack." Rebekah mumbled.
"Hey," Hayley snapped before coming over to join the hug. "I am one of those supernatural nasties."
Sighing, Caroline pulled away. She was tired of lies and secrets. That was how she got here in the first place. "Hayley. Rebekah. I need to tell you something." Sitting down on the bed Caroline began to tell them what happened starting at the beginning when she had had her surgery and then ending at now. She skipped over what had happened between her and Stefan because she did not want to hear what Rebekah would say.
"You are a bloody vampire," Rebekah shouted. "I knew it."
"Would you keep your voice down?" Hayley snapped staring at Rebekah with wide eyes. "Or do you want someone to come to take you for a psych eval?"
Rolling her eyes Rebekah, shook her head. "I can't believe I'm rooming with a couple of demons. Stupid college who lets anyone who can pay in its doors."
" If you don't like it, go live with Kol and Klaus!" Hayley snapped and then looked at Caroline. "Speaking of the elder Mr. M, how are things going? Was Friday night as amazing as you hoped it would be because Rebekah and I worked hard to get this room right for you?"
"Ugh, details about my brothers' sex lives are not something I want to hear about," Rebekah muttered before getting up to go into the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. Then we should go out for dinner, yes?"
"Yes," Caroline replied. "Things were perfect." Caroline told Hayley after Rebekah went into the bathroom. "Now, tell me how things have been with you and the other Mr. M?"
Hayley grinned, "Well, we agreed to keep things professional and that was going really well until I came over to his apartment and he kissed me. He swore it would not happen again and that he's going to be to professional and all this stuff but it was such an amazing kiss. And I'm hoping it happens again soon. I'm not sure I can handle this for another twelve weeks."
"Sounds exciting," Caroline replied.
"What sounds exciting?" Rebekah asked, appearing in the doorway. She walked over to the closet to find something to wear. Pulling out a short red dress, she grabbed a pair of heels and headed back toward the bathroom. Pausing in the doorway, she gave her roommates an expectant look. "Well?"
"We're going to go to a new frozen yogurt place for dinner?" Hayley called and then rolled her eyes at Caroline.
"And you have the nerve to call me the dull one?" Rebekah shouted before coming back out and picking up a pair of earrings.
"Yes, we do," Hayley told her. "Bekah, why don't you announce your big news for the week?"
Caroline raised her eyebrows and looked at Rebekah, who blushed brightly. "I have decided to take Marcel up on his offer of attending his class. I will be auditing but I can change the status before the end of the term if I choose." Placing her hands on her hips, Rebekah eyed them. "Are we going or not?"
"Yes," Hayley and Caroline called. They began to walk out the door when Caroline remembered her purse. Running back in, she flopped on top of her bed to reach for it. It was laying on the floor. Too far away. 'Laziness will get you nowhere, Forbes,' she told herself, popping her head over the side and looking down to see her sketch pad, lying face down where she had dropped it the other night.
Flipping the pad over, Caroline gasped to see the portrait completed. In the corner were words.
I Love You, Niklaus Mikaelson.
To the future Mrs. Miklaelson on the first night we made love.
Always and Forever,
Sweetheart.
Feeling her throat constrict, Caroline tried not to cry. "Klaus, where are you?" Caroline whispered before forcing herself to her feet and walking out the door.
Please review. Thanks.
Miss DK: Thank you. I tried to make it interesting without simply retelling every little detail that we already know about vampire transitions. Damn is like a big brother to Caroline in his own messed up way.
Ilyreid: Although are bits that might seem like a triangle it's more about Caroline being young and trying to figure out what she really wants out of life especially with the new changes that are happening to her. And the Stefan thing is more about the pain of unrequited love. I still have no idea who Stefan will end up with. I suppose I'm watching TVD and waiting for the writers to find an acceptable character for him to get involved with. Otherwise I'll just pick someone from out two casts and that will be his love interest. As for Caroline going back to Klaus… give them a little time but something tells me they'll find their way back to each other.
AnimeWhoLockDiaries: Yes, there are times that Damon can be Damon. (But I love him anyway.) Caroline's undead and she'll start to have fun with that eventually because now not only can she see, she can see really well.
Redbudrose: There isn't a huge emphasis on Caroline as a vampire as there is on her gaining her sight. Its kind a half and half thing. To explain that in a more through way: Caroline could see and now she can. The funny thing is that then Caroline falls into this trap of thinking that just because can "see" things means that you "know" what is going on around you. Which is why this story is called Appearances Can Be Deceiving" because of of the major points is that every day we see things and many times we take them at face value. Well, in this story things are rarely what they seem to be. So, that's why Caroline is so surprised to find out that vampires were in her life for all these years and she didn't know a thing. And, yes, Damon was being a "dick" but he loves Caroline and is extremely loyal to her in this story. Although that loyalty is tested later in the story. I hope any of that made sense.
Thanks to everyone who is reading, faved, followed and/or reviewed this story.
Peace,
LL