Chapter 2:
"Okay," she told herself, leaning against the bathroom door, "just breathe, Caroline. Breathe."
She closed her eyes for a moment, the cool wood of the door and the faint smell of shampoo calming her nerves. This was what it must feel like to have a bad drug trip, she decided. Opening her eyes, she looked around. The bathroom was huge, with two sinks and a large tub, as well as the generous shower Stefan had used before. Her boyfriend, Stefan.
She shook her head and thought about what had happened. There was the vague memory of a party and a silvery dress, but how was that possible? Yesterday, she had been with Klaus and now this new guy already called himself her boyfriend?
Slowly, she unlocked the door and peeked outside.
"Uhm, Stefan?" she called, waiting for a respond.
"Have you showered yet?" came his answer from another room.
"Uhm, not yet, but could you bring me my cell?"
Some seconds passed, and she could hear him rummaging through something, before the blonde came walking through the bedroom door, holding a golden mobile phone in his outstretched hand and looking casual, but hot.
"Seriously, Care, I know you are a media addict, but you need to be on set in about an hour. So, hurry up!" With that, he handed her a phone she had never seen before, before turning around and vanishing again.
Closing the bathroom door once more, she felt the need to take deep breaths again.
This definitely was not her phone. Well, it was the phone she wanted, but she could never convince herself to pay that much money for a mobile. Still, she tapped on the screen and was greeted by a picture of a puppy sitting in front of the sea. Shaking her head, she tapped again. If this was her phone, the code would be the same one she had used her whole life: 9939.
Hesitantly, she put the numbers in, waiting for the phone to stay locked, when the main screen lit up, showing a picture of her and Stefan. She was obviously hugging him from behind, making a face at the camera and he was smiling, his eyes covered by stylish sunglasses. She definitely did not remember taking such a photo. Still, for a second, the memory of a garden and a birthday cake shot through her mind, leaving her confused.
Maybe she had memory loss. Either that, or this was a conspiracy, like in that movie where that one dude wakes up and his whole identity is stolen by another guy. Anyhow, she would have to call Klaus.
Flipping through the phone book of her mobile, she searched for his number – with no luck. There was no trace of Klaus on this phone. Still, he was quite well known artist, so she might find his number on google.
Opening the browser, Caroline typed in Klaus' name, waiting for results.
The page loaded, revealing the first entry: Klaus Mikaelson. Head of the Mikaelson Cooperation, New Orleans.
The Mikaelson Cooperation? Klaus had always detested his father's line of work, refusing to take over the business, especially since the cooperation's mere purpose was buying other businesses which were in trouble and then exploiting the carcasses, as Klaus had so delicately put it when Caroline asked him about it. Leaving the business to his older brother, Elijah, Klaus had made a point of pursuing a career in arts, preferring the life of a 'starving' artist to that of a cooperate slave (his words, not hers). About three years ago he had finally find a type of drawing that actually interested buyers, so, for the last few years they had been living quite comfortably with the money of her job as a day-care worker and his sales.
"Caroline?" Stefan's voice called through the door. "I still don't hear the shower! You've got twenty minutes. Chop Chop!"
Twenty minutes until what? She thought, turning towards the shower and starting it. Hadn't he said something about a set? Frantically, Caroline typed her own name into the search engine, and directly millions of results popped up on the screen. Vaguely she realised that her fingers were trembling as she clicked on a Wikipedia article featuring her name. The top picture was definitely of her, or a twin she didn't know about, smiling into the camera, a microphone standing in front of her. Caroline Forbes, the title read, followed by her description as American actress, singer and songwriter. This had to be some kind of joke. Reading through the article, Caroline soon came to the column describing the start of her career.
In 2010, Forbes decided to leave her hometown Mystic Falls behind to come to L.A., where she started out with several guest appearances in shows like "The Vampire Chronicles", "How I met your father" and "The Black Hole Theory". In 2011, she was cast in the hit series Glee-venture in the role of Quinn Aubrey, a singing head cheerleader with a questionable attitude. Still, Forbes soon became a darling of the public, and her role was enlarged into a broader storyline in the second season.
For a moment, Caroline stared at the article. 2010. That was when she had bought plane tickets to leave Mystic Falls to go to L.A., before deciding to stay with Klaus. Scrolling through the rest of the article she found a column about "Caroline Forbes" personal life, including a list of boyfriends. There, on the top of the list was Klaus' name, dated as ended in 2010. On the bottom, she spotted the name Stefan Salvatore: Started dating in 2015, no time of break up.
Sliding down to the ground, Caroline felt herself starting to panic. This could not be true. She must be dreaming.
Like a little kid, she tried pinching herself.
"Ouch!" she yelped, before staring at her mobile again.
She couldn't believe it.
She had left Klaus. First the previous evening and now, because of something weird happening, also six years ago.
Everything was different. And she didn't know what to do.
"You look like hell!" the dark skinned girl sitting in a chair next to her said, looking worried. "Did you have too much champagne last night?"
Caroline merely shook her head.
After sitting on the ground of the bathroom for what felt like hours, Stefan had started banging on the door, making her shower and get dressed, before they drove to what appeared to be her work: The set of a TV show called Glee- venture, and before Caroline knew what happened she had been ushered into a make-up trailer since she had seemingly been twenty minutes late.
In between layers of foundation and rouge, Caroline had googled Stefan. Apparently, he also had a role in the show, playing the male lead who was in a TV relationship with the female main role, a brunette called Rachel Melon who was played by an actress called Elena – that much Caroline had gathered so far.
"Well, it's not like you to be late, Care. Especially since Stefan normally is a stickler for punctuality!" the girl next to her rattled on and Caroline could not help but feel a little annoyed. She had bigger problems than this girl's chitchat. She would have to film something out on set and she didn't even know her lines, let alone the show's story or any of the people's names. While she had always wanted to be an actress, this was definitely not the way she imagined stumbling into it.
"Anyways, Care, please try to concentrate. Our scene is the first to be filmed and I really want to finish quickly," the girl was still talking, and Caroline glanced at her. She was pretty and looked a bit exotic, with a friendly smile, but Caroline guessed she could be quite bitchy if she wanted to.
"You do remember when Elena took take after take last week when we filmed that rehearsal scene and I was on the verge of strangling her!"
Caroline sighed.
"Yes, Bonnie, I'll try my best," she heard herself mumble, surprise clouding her mind. So this was 'her best friend Bonnie', the one with the party Stefan had been talking about? How had she suddenly known the girl's name? Feeling slightly sick, Caroline stepped down from the chair when the make-up artist told her to and followed Bonnie outside. And why did she remember feeling irritated about Elena mucking up every take?
"Oh, shit, Care, what's my first line again?" Bonnie whispered as they walked towards the camera.
"Coach Easter is a maniac," Caroline told her without thinking, stopping in her tracks.
What the hell was happening to her?
Author's Notes:
A little Update. Please let me know what you think.
I will update my other stories soon! Promise!
Ria
