Perfectly Imperfect

Chapter 3: Happy Drunk

A fruitless day with Damon Salvatore hitting on her, Arabelle felt like a piece of meat. Not too far from the truth if you were looking from a vampire's perspective. Belle had met a few vampires over the years and they said until they manage to make a connection with a human, they were nothing more than a blood bag to them. To be something more than a blood bag you had to actually make them see you as a person.

Something easier said than done and something near impossible to do if they have their humanity switch flipped.

Damon didn't seem to have his switch flipped, but he was a complete and total pig. Belle might have actually preferred to be thought of as a blood bag and not just another potential notch in the bedpost.

"Bells?" Caroline called, closing the front door.

"In here!" Belle said from the kitchen, breathing in the soothing smell of warm relaxing tea. Damon really was a trial to be around.

Caroline dropped her book bag on the kitchen floor. "Tea? I thought you only drank that when you were stressed?"

She did. "Oh I just had a craving." Belle said nonchalantly. "So what do you want to do today?"

"I don't really feel like going out today." Caroline mumbled.

"Come on sweetie, night time is for moping and day time is for attempting to be a member of the human race." Belle said pulling on a jacket. "Why don't you show me around town? Keeping busy is one of the best things for you right now."

Caroline sighed. "I suppose…"

"Great. Now where's the best place to pick up hot guys?" Belle winked.

"You are not bringing them here to our house." Caroline commanded adamantly.

"No, of course not. Going to their house makes it easier to sneak out." Belle explained with a teasing tone as she grabbed her purse.

"What has college done to you?" Caroline smiled. "You used to be such a prim and proper girl."

"I learned how to have fun. Now you ready to go?" Belle asked.

"I guess." Caroline said, rolling her eyes.

"The Mystic Grill, come on even I knew about this hang out." Belle was hoping more for a new clue on where to do her next reading since her one at the Mystic Grill didn't turn up squat.

"Yeah well it's a small town and you wanted to pick up hot guys. This is the only place to do it." Caroline said as she strutted into the place.

"I was joking about that!" Belle said, following Caroline.

"Caroline!" Caroline turned to where Elena and Bonnie were sitting down. They both walked over there to join them.

"I thought you weren't feeling up to coming out." Bonnie questioned.

"Bells changed my mind."

"Caroline, I'm going to let you hang with your friends." Belle said. She did not want to intrude on Caroline and her friends.

"No it's alright Belle. We don't mind." Bonnie said.

"Yeah join us. You came here with Caroline anyway." Elena added.

"It's alright. I'm just going to go skulk around for a hot guy."

"I thought you were joking about that." Caroline asked with a raised brow.

"I was. It just sounded better than I'm going to go get shitfaced." Belle winked. "You're my ride home Caroline. Don't forget me."

She left the teens to their drinks and went up to the bar, ordering her drink. "If you're skulking for a hot guy, I'm available." Annoyance immediately followed the smooth voice.

"Do you live here?" Belle asked turning to look Damon in his icy blue eyes.

"No, but I do come here to meet pretty girls." It's like he wants me to hate him.

"Good for you. I am so not interested." I turned back around and grabbed my drink.

"Damon just leave her alone." Another voice intruded. Oo he's cute. He turned his pretty blue eyes my way and held out his hand. "Hello Alaric Saltzman. And you are?"

Belle smiled. He was polite, bonus. "Arabelle Forbes, but you can call me Belle." She shook his hand. Oh this is the human that was friends with Damon. How in the world did that work? He and Damon are like polar opposites.

"Oh your Caroline's cousin. It was nice of you to come to help your cousin." Alaric said.

"Family comes first is a motto of mine. How do you know my cousin?" Belle asked.

"I'm her history teacher."

"Alright that's enough Ric." Damon grabbed Ric and started to shove him over to their customary seats but turned back to me one last time. "He's also dating Elena's Aunt, just thought you should know."

I roll my eyes. I sip my drink and let the alcohol dull my psychic abilities. I wasn't going to be doing any detective work tonight. I will leave that for tomorrow. For now, it was time to relax. I doubt anything is going to happen with so many people around.

It was a couple hours later and I was pleasantly buzzed. The music was better, the company was better, everything was just better. That's what alcohol does though; it makes everything so much… better.

Of course Belle knew better than to get shitfaced like she told Caroline she was going to do, too many nights praying to the porcelain god after her 21st birthday. Belle had learned through much experience that wonderful point between drunk and sober and how to stay on it.

One of the best things she learned at college.

"Bells?" Caroline interrupted Belle and the guy she was flirting with. She was a tease, she knew that, but it was so much fun.

"Hey Car, what's up?" Belle gave Caroline a sloppy grin.

Caroline raised one perfectly trimmed eyebrow and her lips quirked up into a smile. "You're going to regret those drinks later."

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm a master." Belle took another sip of her fruity drink. Call her a girl all you wanted, she loved her fruity drinks.

"We're leaving Bells, but I can pick you up later if you want to stay."

"Sounds great! I'll give you a call when I want to leave." Belle smiled and waved goodbye to Car as she walked out. She turned back to the guy she was flirting with.

He was staring intently at her chest. Belle rolled her eyes. Men, especially drunk one, had the worst attention span on Earth. Her conversation with Caroline wasn't all that long and the dude had lost focus and refocused back on her chest.

Belle smacked him. "Pig." He jumped as she walked away.

Was she overly sensitive when she was buzzed, a bit, but she was feeling great. She wasn't going to let some guy ruin it by making her feel like a piece of meat.

A new song came over the speakers and Belle smiled. Oh she loved this song. Jumping into a seat at the bar away from everyone and ordering another drink, Belle started to sing along while doing a little jig in her seat.

She was such a happy drunk.

"That was very impressive, love." Belle jumped at the sound of the British accent right behind her.

She turned behind her and saw probably the best looking man in town. He had an amused smirk on his face. "I'm sure it really wasn't all that impressive. In fact, I will probably be mortified tomorrow." Please be single, please be single, please be single. It would put such a damper on her day dreams if he had a girl.

He laughed. "Aw, it wasn't all that bad. It was actually quite graceful."

"Now I know your lying. I'm not graceful when I'm sober, let alone buzzed."

Klaus had come to the Mystic Grill for a little distraction. His family had taken over his home, and while he did build the place with the intention of them all living there, he had forgotten how annoying living with others can be, especially his family.

It's not like he could rip their hearts out if they annoyed him.

So he figured a trip out to the Mystic Grill was in order. A little bit of alcohol, a lot of warm blood, and he would be ready to return home.

He had just walked in and was surveying his meal options for the night when the young drunken blonde caught his eye. Dancing in her seat, sing slightly off key to the music, and a brightly colored drink in her hand. Perfect.

Unfortunately she wasn't nearly as drunk as he thought she would be. She seemed rather coherent. She was able to focus on him properly with no problem, her words didn't slur at all. The only sign she had been drinking was the smell of alcohol on her breath and the glassy state of her eyes.

Oh, well he can just compel her to come with him. He put on his most charming smile. "I'm Niklaus Mikaelson. You may call me Klaus."

"I am Arabelle. You may call me Belle." She mimicked him, thankfully not mimicking his accent.

"What no last name?" He asked, feeling more than a little bit amused.

She absentmindedly sipped on her drink. "Of course I have a last name. It would be weird if I didn't. You just haven't earned the right to it."

That had to be the one thing in the world that would stop him from compelling her and making a meal out of her, a challenge. Klaus would never back down from a challenge, especially when it involved his prey.

He smiled. "Alright my mysterious Arabelle, your challenge is accepted."

She looked at him with amusement. "Um… Okay, it wasn't really a challenge, but sure. I'm game. How should we do this?" She leaned back in her seat as she looked at the ceiling. "Okay, you have until I leave Mystic Falls to earn the right to know my last name. Don't worry, I'm not a cheat. If you earn it I'll tell you. But the same goes the other way around. You can't cheat and figure it out on your own. Loser buys drinks for the loser for an entire night. Sound good?"

Klaus smiled. "Sounds perfect, love."

"Well my stay just got a whole lot more interesting."

He had spent the next hour chatting with the girl. She was in town to help her family through a tragedy, no shortage of those in Mystic Falls, and she was a college student at Whitmore. It felt like such a short time before her phone rang and she had to go, or be stranded at the Mystic Grill for the night, since her ride home was going to bed soon.

It was then that Klaus had noticed how fast the time had gone. He had rather enjoyed Arabelle's company. She was a silly girl, although that might be the alcohol. She was also a bit of a flirt, he noticed. Not that he was complaining, she was a quite the beauty. Reminded him a bit of Caroline, but more mature, more confident, and more laidback.

She didn't have that teenage drama that Caroline did. She didn't seem to worry about much, more of a go with the flow type of girl. That was when he realized he was actually having fun with her.

Her ride came and she left, leaving behind the smell of rain in the stink of the Mystic Grill. She left him with a smile, a wave, and her phone number. He smiled when he saw the winking smiley face following the number.

Maybe he won't drain her after all.

End Chapter 3: Happy Drunk

Okay, I don't know if Klaus is a little OOC during this, I don't know if he's becoming fond of Arabelle a little too fast. I hope not. Also I made a slight change. I changed Arabelle's nickname from Bell to Belle. I know it's a very small change, and they both sound exactly the same, but it looks better to me. I will be changing it in previous chapters too.

And wow, this has actually turned out to be one of the longest chapters I've ever written. I usually write anywhere from 1,000 words to 1,500, but this chapter is over 2,000. So yay for me.

So anyway, I want to thank everyone that favorited and followed my story and/or me for their support. I would like to give a big shout out for those of you that reviewed. Reviews really make my day. They tell me you liked my story enough to type a few words of encouragement, even if it's just saying you like it. So thank you.

So until next time my readers.