Sorry this took so long to update, I really need to stay away from spoilers, they've really been eating away at my Klaroline inspiration! Enough! I will ship these two until they die! Thank you so much to those who reviewed, it really meant a lot to me! And to all those following a favorite-ing, I could hug you!

The next day,

Sifting through dresses, Bonnie couldn't help but think this whole experience felt rather surreal. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to do something as normal as prom. She finally understood how Elena felt in the beginning of all this chaos: how can you do such a normal atypical high school thing after experiencing the cacophony of events that just happened. To Bonnie, the paranormal world was her new normal world, a thought which both terrified and brought a certain piece to her.

In a way she guessed it was a good thing she was getting used to all this, the less stress she had the easier it was to control her rather volatile magic. By getting used to it, she found she no longer physical ached for the days when she was her normal non-witchy self, and the whole town wasn't infested with vampires; well that she knew of. It was good to know she was adapting. But she also felt a great sadness for the loss of her innocence, rather like a person feeling the nostalgia of their childhood days where eating dirt seemed like a great idea. It terrified her to think that one day she may look in the mirror and not even recognize the person she had became; a person hardened by the death of so many, a person who is immune to pain, sadness, grief, and suffering. In a way she guessed that if this all kept up, she wouldn't need to be a vampire to turn her humanity off; the world had done that for her.

Shaking her head clear of those morbid thoughts, Bonnie tried to focus on the dresses she was shifting through. Prom was tomorrow and Bonnie still didn't have a dress. She knew she should have found a way to make time earlier this week, but again, the supernatural world had other matters to attend to. It felt to Bonnie that here lately she had had to spend every waking moment with Silas/Shane. Even during classes, Silas had her practicing expression; impersonating a student, a teacher, or even the principal once, he was drilling her more and more to get ahold of the power she could truly posses. She understood why he was being so tough on her: she was the only one who could drop the veil to the other side completely. Still, it didn't mean she didn't enjoy her Silas/Shane free moments, when she could attempt to pretend she had everything under control in her life.

She was getting frustrated now, Caroline and her had been in the shop for over half and hour, and Bonnie still hadn't seen one dress she could think she'd want to try on. Of course the fact she had been zoning in and out the whole experience probably did not help her case. She sighed and went back to the very beginning of the first rack, determined that she would keep her mind in the now and actually look at the dresses this round, else face Caroline's wrath when Caroline finished getting the final adjustments on her dress.

Finally after passing over a few dresses, Bonnie found one she'd like to try on when Caroline came out of the fitting room.

"So what do you think?" She asked twirling around slowly enough so Bonnie could get the full effect of the dress.

"I think I have one hot date," Bonnie replied appreciatively, rather envious of the fact that she didn't get to go dress shopping the day Caroline and Elena picked out that dress.

As Caroline looked at herself appreciatively from all different angles, Bonnie couldn't help but notice something sparkling on her wrist. Either that hadn't been there earlier, or Bonnie was finally starting to completely lose her mind.

"That is a really beautiful bracelet, can I see?" she asked. She saw Caroline stiffen a little, but she quickly shook that thought when Caroline started walking towards her in Caroline's typical bubbly way so that Bonnie could get a better look at the bling.

Bonnie took Caroline's wrist in her hands and flipped it every which way until she was absolutely 100% sure that it was real; because in no way could Bonnie think of anyone Caroline was related that had that kind of money, and she was highly doubtful this was a family air loom of Cares'.
"Who gave it to you?"

It was a great question, and Caroline knew if situations were reversed she'd be asking the exact same question, after all this was a real diamond bracelet. Correction, a real vintage diamond bracelet… well according to the gift-giver, whom she wouldn't be surprised at all if he just bought it for her and made up some lame story so she wouldn't feel as bad having the darn thing. Typical.

She didn't quite know how to respond though, she had only brought the bracelet to see how it'd look with the rest of her jewelry and the dress, determined she'd find a million and one reasons not to wear it. Of course, after staring at whole ensemble with it, she knew she had only been fooling herself in thinking that the probably thousands of dollars bracelet wouldn't just bring every bit of elegance she was striving to have. Heck, she had half a mind to go raid his house for a necklace and earring set that could equally shine with the item on her wrist. She had completely forgotten that aside from herself and Klaus this bracelet was new as she went to go show Bonnie how amazing she looked.

She debated momentarily about lying to her, but of course anyone with a brain would know that this isn't exactly a cheap gift one would so crassly give away, nor was it imitation anything.

Instead, she replied vaguely with, "A friend." She knew it was a rather lame reply, but it wasn't a lie. After all, the gift giver and herself were becoming friends, well whatever the loosest interpretation of the word would be.

"Care…" Bonnie started hesitantly, refusing to believe where her mind was leading this, "Did Klaus give you that?"

Both of them very well knew that if ever there were a person to give a gift like that, it'd be him. Caroline's silence was answer enough for her. Bonnie knew, along with anyone else in this town that had eyes, that Klaus had a soft spot for Caroline; there was, after all, a reason Caroline was volun-told to be the distraction. But for Caroline to actually be wearing something from him, for no apparent reason, as Klaus wasn't there, that crossed a line that Bonnie didn't understand. Did Caroline feel something other than udder disdain towards the man who drove Tyler out of town, not to mention killed so many? No, that couldn't be, could it?
"Would you like to explain why you're wearing something from him." She stated, not really giving Caroline to deflect the question, she was going to answer it, end of discussion.

Caroline took a deep breath, knowing that this was going to turn into a rather long arduous afternoon if she didn't diffuse the situation. She decided to start with how she got the bracelet the first time. How after Klaus had ordered Tyler to bite her, he had found her, she omitted the detail of Klaus being invited in her house, and showed a modicum of compassion when he realized it was her birthday. She then went on to explain how when she woke up the next day feeling 100% normal, she had found a box next to her bed with the bracelet in it.

She finished off the story with a shrug.

"I figured that after all he had put me through, Christ he almost sacrificed me in that altar thing, that I deserved some kind of repayment. So I kept it." She also omitted the part where she later threw the present back at him, as well as the part where Klaus found a rather endearing way of giving the bracelet back to her.

It had been his way of asking her to prom. After they had finished doing as much as they both humanly and supernaturally could do to get the gym ready, he had politely asked if he could walk her home. As it was rather late and she didn't have her car due to hitching a ride with Bonnie in the morning (a new everyday ritual founded for the two of them to have some girl time together) she accepted his offer. About halfway to her house, he veered them slightly off course to a rather secluded, but still decently lit, area. He then proceeded to ask, in that annoyingly sexy accent of his, if she would "be as kind as" to let him escort her to the prom, finishing off with a rather cliché "take this as a token of my appreciation…" while sliding the bracelet back on her wrist before she could even react. He finished the whole ordeal with a cocky grin. Even if this wasn't the deal they had made, Caroline hated to admit that she would have said yes. Which of course, he was fully aware of.

Best to omit that part, she thought to herself.

"Vindictive with a hint of self-righteousness," Bonnie nodded in approval, "I like it."

Caroline turned fully towards her, "Okay, where's your dress? As my friend date I forbid you to show up naked to prom. It's for your own good," she finished off; pointing at her friend with what she hoped was a stern face.

She hadn't told Klaus yet about her friend date plans; it wasn't technically in their agreement that they would go exclusively together after all. She figured she'd work out all the details whilst at the prom, it's not like they've never seen her with Klaus at a dance.

As Bonnie went to show her the possible dress candidates, they both heard the door open and saw none other than Elena and Rebekah entering the boutique.

"Nice dress," Elena said, malice lacing her every word, "I wonder who had such great taste as to pick it out?"
"Obviously not you, as you have no taste, and my dear brother hadn't asked me dress opinions as of late…" Rebekah interjected.

"You did, when we were still friends." Caroline replied coldly, both her and Bonnie heading towards the fitting room in order to get Caroline's dress off faster so that the two of them could leave. They'd find Bonnie a dress elsewhere.

"Oh don't mind us, we are here for the same reason you two are: We need prom dresses," Elena called out to them. Caroline heard the two girls giggle as if what Elena said was some kind of inside joke.

Bonnie and Caroline were out the door of the boutique in less than three minutes, ignoring the snide remarks given by Rebekah and Elena. Caroline had had to leave her dress there as there was still some last minute tailoring that needed to be done before she would wear it tomorrow.

Getting in the car and driving to another shop far across town, the two girls said nothing. There was nothing to say, they both missed their friend dearly and were still coming to terms with this new girl running around in Elena's body.

Sometimes Klaus's offer of escaping this place sounds like the best idea in the world, Caroline thought to herself. As she turned up the radio, it was all the she had to keep herself from having a mental breakdown and turning to car around. Right now she needed more than anything to be comforted, and she loathed the fact that the only person she truly wanted to be held by was Niklaus.

What was happening to her?

1900 words! I wish I could go on but I am experiencing bad carpal tunnel from all the typing! More soon!
Feel free to praise of constructively critique, I know I have a few logic fallacies, but I'm working on it!