1912

"Hey, Bonnie. I know you're probably mad at me right now and I completely understand that. Just know that I'm sorry and I love you."

I put my phone into bag and slid down my goggles. I did my stretches before going to the edge of the pool, ready to dive.

I did a couple of laps, getting all my frustration and anger out with the swim. Swimming had always been healing for me. After my parents died, I used to go to the community pool every morning for a swim. It was like the water had special healing properties or something, I felt so relaxed when I swam.

My phone rang inside my green duffel bag. I learned to never ignore a call when there were supernaturals running about. I lifted myself out of the swimming pool. Surprisingly, all that getting in and out gave me some arm muscle.

I wiped my hands and my arms before answering the phone. Elena's voice was actually kind of whiny. "Louise! Sheriff Forbes arrested Ric. He's down at the station. They think he's the serial killer."

"Ric?" I blurted out in disbelief. "As in our Ric?"

"Yeah. Get to the station as quick as you can."

I rushed into the station, looking for anyone familiar. Damon - the one familiar person I wouldn't mind not seeing - approached me. His face didn't look cocky and he was smirking... which was a little worrying. "Were you just...?" I asked.

"Ric's fine," Damon assured me. "Sheriff wants me to stay out of it."

I looked at him hopefully. "But you're not going to, are you?"

Damon shrugged. "Seems just as good a plan as any."

I gaped, shocked. "Your friend's in jail for murder! You have to do something, Damon!"

"Well, I guess I could rip out Dr. False Accusation's throat. Maybe her tongue. You know, I could chew it up into little tiny pieces and feed it to the squirrels," Damon suggested.

"Stop it, Damon!" I urged.

"Guess me staying out of it suddenly sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?" He smirked. "I saved your life and Elena's last night. You're welcome."

"Thank you," I said. "But you could show a little compassion about Bonnie and Abby."

Damon nodded, but it seemed like he was mocking me. "I know, you're right, her and her mom must be really hurting right now. Should I send lasagna?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Quit it, Damon. You're acting like a jerk."

"I'm a jerk, you hate me, the Earth is back on its axis," he said.

I scoffed and spun around. Was he trying to drive me away? Did I really hurt him that bad? I turned back around and said to him, "You know, if you keep pushing people away, you're gonna end up on your own."

Maybe I need anger management classes, I thought as I punched the sturdy punching bag. I didn't know what to think anymore. Did Damon even care about me after what I said? Or did he hate me?

And then there was Klaus. At least I knew what to expect from him, but I didn't feel anything. That was what I told myself, anyway.

There was this attraction I felt for him, to his dark side, but I pushed it away as best as I could. Klaus killed Jenna and Elena (granted, Elena came back to life). He killed people without remorse, but so did Damon. Why do we think we're better than him again? Damon had killed, Stefan had killed, Caroline had killed. What made us the innocent ones?

I kicked the punching bag in it's middle. The thrill and ecstasy it provided wasn't nearly as great as the thrill I'd get from punching someone in the face. Violent thought... put away the violent thoughts...

Was Klaus even being honest? Did he genuinely like me? I doubted it somehow. If it was Elena, Bonnie or Caroline, I'd get it completely, but me? It wasn't as believable. But the prospect of him really 'fancying' me,made me somewhat happy. He was a thousand year old hybrid who could have any girl in the world... but he chose me. Not anyone else... me. Maybe that was self-centered, but it felt great.

"You're gonna break that thing."

I snapped my head over to the source. "Oh, Jacob, hi. Just letting off some steam."

Jacob Greene had been my best friend a couple of years back, when we were kids. I didn't really talk to him anymore, or anyone outside of my circle of supernatural friends.

"How have you been?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Alright. Still working at the Grill." Jacob watched me for a moment, a worried expression on his face. "Rough breakup?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Way more complicated than that."

He sat on an orange bean bag. "I'm all ears."

My punches got fiercer as I got angrier. "Well, I broke up with my boyfriend because he was jealous of this guy who's into me, but I'm not even sure he's into me. And I feel nothing for him... nothing. I think I'm still in love with my ex-boyfriend, which makes everything so much more complicated when I'm around the other guy. Everyone I meet seems to die and my guardian is in jail for suspected murder. And there's a possibilty I'm going to be dead with the next few months."

I only looked at him for a split second. His jaw had dropped and his eyes were as wide as cucumbers. "Wow. You have a lot going on."

I sighed heavily. "You have no idea."

"Here she comes," I muttered to myself as I watched Meredith get out of her car.

I got out of mine and went up to her. "Hey, Meredith."

We walked towards the hospital. "I'm due in surgery, whatever case you're gonna make against Alaric, make it quick."

I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too, Meredith. I've been fine!"

"Get on with it," she urged coldly.

I sighed. "Alaric is innocent, so, I don't have to make a case," I assured her confidently. "He didn't do anything."

"How do you know?" Meredith asked. "Sure you live with him, he takes care of you, but do you really know anything about him?"

"I know enough," I said through gritted teeth.

Meredith stopped in her tracks and turned to face me. "Let me tell you what I know. He was arrested for fighting four times before the age of twenty-one. When he was at Duke, his future wife, Isobel, filed a restraining order against him. Twice. Although, then she married him, so I guess that says more about her."

I shook my head. "I know Ric. He's not like that. You're making this up."

"Am I? How would you know? You took pity on a borderline alcoholic vampire hunter and you never even thought to look any deeper," Meredith replied.

"How could you do this to him?" I asked. "He's innocent! Ric didn't kill anyone."

"You're dating a vampire and have an Original chasing after you," Meredith retorted. "It shouldn't come as a shock to learn that your guardian is a murderer."

Then the bitch of a doctor sauntered away. I called Elena. "She's not budging. It's like she has an ex-girlfiend grudge or something against Ric."

"Right. Time for plan B then. Keep her distracted."

"Okay."

I hung up and followed Meredith into a room. She was changing into her scrubs. "Meredith."

She groaned. "Louise, what do you want? I thought I told you I'm not taking anything back."

"I've come to beg for an internship?" I said as she strided past me. "Oh, come on! My dad was a doctor!"

I ran up to her. "Your dad was also a vampire hunter and you didn't follow in those footsteps."

"Well, neither did you!" She was walking way to quickly for my liking. "You use vampire blood to heal your patients-"

"Not so loud!" she shushed.

"Sorry," I whispered. "But I think I'd make a great doctor."

"Witch herbs?" she asked.

"I'm gonna be a vampire with the next few months. I'll be the next Meredith Fell, except I won't have to ambush vampires," I told her. "You can't tell Ric any of that."

She shook her head. "It's none of my business. And I'll think about your internship."

"Thank you."

"Now, if you don't mind, I have to preform surgery. Bye, Louise. It was nice talking to you." She shut the door in my face.

Rude. "Meredith!" I knocked on the door. She didn't come back out. "Great. Lost her."

"You had one job. One job and you couldn't do it."

"Elena, I couldn't exactly follow her into surgery!"

"And we got caught! We planned everything so perfectly, Louise. At least Ric's name is cleared."

"Why did she have a copy of Ric's alibi in her closet? And an old Gilbert journal?"

"I dunno, but we'll find out."

She hung up. I ordered a glass of water from Jacob. He used to smuggle me alcohol two years ago, but I didn't feel like alcohol.

Someone sat on the stool beside me. "One tequila please," said the smirking voice of Klaus Mikaelson. "Anything I could get you, love?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine, thanks. And quit it with the 'love.' It gets annoying."

He chuckled. "I thought you liked it, love."

"No, I don't, darling," I replied in a British accent.

"Good try," Klaus complimented. "But I believe it takes years to develope an accent as fine as mine."

"Don't be so cocky," I said, smiling brightly. "I think your accent is pretty mediocre to be honest."

He put a hand to his heart. "You wound me greatly."

I laughed. "Don't expect me to apologise."

Klaus was the type of guy I'd fall for. Dangerous, maybe a little complicated... I was your typical teenager when it came down to falling for the bad guys. Except, the bad guys for me were a homicidal hybrid and a vampire with multiple personalities. Klaus killed my aunt. What would Jenna think? Sure, she was fine with Damon... wait. Why am I... I'm not interested in Klaus! Push it aside... deeper... deeper... Gone.

Klaus' eyes widened when he heard something. "Sounds like Damon is making Stefan feed from a human."

I shot up and got to my feet. "What? I-I better go."

I ran out of the Grill, only noticing that Klaus was following me when Matt, who was standing on the sidewalk, looked behind me. "Hey, what's up?"

His gaze kept drifting to Klaus. I looked down the alleyway. Stefan was drinking some girl's blood. Damon was watching him. He knew Stefan couldn't handle human blood. "Damon! What are you doing?" Stefan turned around, blood dripping from his mouth and a ravenous look on his face. "Stefan?"

"Louise. What are you three doing?" Stefan asked, trying to play casual.

"Watching a vampire in his true element," Klaus said, grinning.

I shot him a look, as did Damon. "Relax, Louise. Just a little experiment. There's no need to make this more dramatic than it needs to be."

"Louise, let's just go." I'd seen Stefan like this before, but it never ceased to amaze me... to terrify me. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. "Louise!"

Matt grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I didn't fight, in the end, he was right. I didn't want to see Stefan like this. Damon... I could handle, but not Stefan. Never Stefan.

I sat at the kitchen table. Matt gave me a cup of warm hot chocolate. I smiled gratefully to him as he sat down in front of me. "Just say it," I said.

"I just don't get it," he replied. "Your thing with them."

"I know it doesn't make sense," I started. "But after my parents died, Stefan and I... we became friends. Like really great friends. I could talk to him about anything and he'd never judge me, he was my confidant and I was his. Then before the start of senior year, Damon and I... we just clicked. Everyone said they saw it coming, but I never did. But there was something about being with him that made me feel... safe."

"Safe? Louise, he's a vampire!"

"I know, I sound crazy, but it's like I knew he would never stop loving me. Like he would never..."

I trailed off. Did I really want to tell Matt? "What?" he pressed.

I took a deep breath and answered, "Die. Like he would never die."

Matt nodded in realisation. "Like your parents did. And Klaus?"

"Klaus." I scoffed. "You sound like Damon, now. Thinking that there's something going on between us."

"The way he looks at you, Louise. Him and Damon, they really care about you and I can see that, in some way, you care about Klaus too. But you're not letting yourself show it, you bury it deep inside because you don't want anyone to think any less of you," Matt said.

I inhaled deeply and replied, choosing my words carefully. "Klaus, he... Maybe it's the fact that someone who doesn't care about anything else somehow cares about me, but there's something there. I don't know what the hell it is, but I... I can't shake it. And I feel like such a horrible person after everything he's done, I really do. But I know that I'll never feel the same way with him as I do with Damon. I'm... I'm in love with Damon. He's the first person I've ever loved. Maybe the only person I ever will."

"Once you fall in love with someone, I don't know if-I don't know if you can ever shake them."

I gave him a sympathetic look. "Elena?"

He nodded solemnly, but then he laughed softly. "You know, before Elena and I started dating, and don't get me wrong, I loved her more than anything, but I had the biggest crush on you."

I laughed. "Me?"

"Yeah," he said. "You were the intelligent, pretty, sporty, good-at-everything overachiever. We used to joke in the locker room that we'd win the league if we had Louise Gilbert on our team."

I chuckled. "I can't believe you had a crush on me."

"You were my first crush," he said, smiling. "Hey, I got you something."

He pulled out a journal and handed it to me. "The Gilbert Journal?" I asked, reading the cover. "How d'you get this?"

"Meredith and that idiot deputy were too busy questioning Elena to give a damn about me," Matt said with a smile. "Sometimes it pays to be the only normal one in a town of vampires. I'm practically invisible. It's your family's, you should have it."

I smiled back at him. Ric entered the kitchen. I got up and walked over to my guardian. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm alright."

I wrapped my arms around the man who put his life on hold to take care of us.

A/N: I love those reviews, so, keep 'em coming!

And if you didn't answer the questions from the last chapter, can I ask you to answer them now? Not that I'm gonna come to your house and force you to answer them (wow, I sound like a creep now), I'm just asking politely. Rarr!

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