prompt #3 Breathe again
Set at the beginning of 2x8 Rose
Breathe Again
It was all about routines, normal things. Organizing things gave you control, and control was the key to sanity. Organizing had always helped her stay grounded when she was in one of her insecurity frenzies. And if there was one thing she desperately needed since fate had decided not to play nice anymore, it was sanity.
If she lost it, how was she supposed to deal with the fact that on top of her craving to kill bunnies to drink their blood and losing Matt because of her urge to drink his blood, she now had to take care of a werewolf who – by the way – would probably kill her if he knew what she was? As would her own mother, who had a professional aversion against people who wanted to drink other people's blood. What a happy thought. Oh. And she was doing it again. Rambling. But at least not out loud anymore. Okay, breathe in – breathe out. And again. Not that she strictly needed to anymore, but anyway, it helped.
On the bright side, she was getting really good at this. She didn't freak out nearly as often as she would have a few months ago. She was calm and collected. Mostly. Despite everything.
At times, her life seemed almost normal again. Like now. She was getting ready for school like she had countless times before. If she ignored the fact that Damon – of all people – was leaning against her doorframe as if he belonged there, asking her about the tragic death in the Lockwoods' house the night before, everything was perfectly normal. Okay, so she was talking about covering up the details about a classmate's death while applying mascara, and discussing what another classmate's uncle, who was a werewolf, possibly knew about vampires while packing her bag. But other than that … It was disturbingly domestic.
She wrapped her scarf around her neck as Damon explained that Tyler would only turn into a wolf on a full moon. So there wasn't overly much reason to worry right now. Fluffing up her hair with one last glance into the mirror, she grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. Now she only had to find out what exactly Tyler knew. But that should be a piece of cake. After all, she could just ask him. She wasn't stupid, she was perfectly capable of inconspicuously getting information out of people, whatever some people of her acquaintance might think. She had even fooled Katherine. If that didn't prove she was on par with Mata Hari, she didn't know what did.
Caroline almost jumped a mile as Damon suddenly appeared in front of her.
"A bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire. So don't be his friend. Do you understand me?"
She stared at him, the confident smile dying on her face.
"I understand."
He patted her shoulder and stepped aside to let her pass.
Caroline took a breath and braced herself. She hated it, but Damon was right. And she wished she actually needed to breathe again, but that would never happen.
Welcome, Caroline, this is your life!
Great, he had made her late for school.