"He's here?!"
Caroline had told Elijah everything. Klaus returning, him inhabiting Alarics body, all of it. And his reaction was exactly what she was expecting: anger.
"You knew this entire time and you didn't think it would be a good idea to tell me?!" Elijah had gotten up from the couch and started pacing the floor.
"Elijah he threatened to kill Alaric!" Caroline explained.
Elijah stopped pacing and faced her, saying " and who is he to you? Some fellow school teacher you pass by in the hallway? The guy you have your cup of coffee with every now and then in the teachers lounge? One man who you have NO attachment to."
Caroline pondered what Elijah had just said. He was right. Alaric was nobody to her. But Elena.
"If something were to happen to him because of me, Elena would never have forgiven me," she said.
"The doppelgänger? Now that Klaus is on the loose she's going to die anyway, you know that right?"
Caroline got up and faced Elijah and said the words she NEVER thought she would say, "Not if I can help it."
The thing Caroline swore she would never do was protect a Petrova. The two she had encountered over a thousand years brought her nothing but misery, but Elena was different. She had a gentle heart, which was something neither Tatia nor Katherine had ever possessed.
"Have you seen him yet?" Elijah asked.
"No. I was out looking for him when Mason found me," Caroline replied.
Elijah nodded in response. She could tell he was still overwhelmed with everything she had just told him. slowly she walked towards him, put her hand on his arm and said, "I'll find him. I'll make this right. I promise."
He looked at her and said, "I'll help you, Caroline. You don't have to be alone."
She smiled and thanked him and they both decided to go to bed. Tomorrow they would start their search for both Tyler and Klaus.
X
Caroline crawled into bed that night, know she wasn't going to get any sleep. Her mind was spinning with thoughts of Klaus and Tyler, not to mention what had happened with Mason. It was all too much.
Mason.
He had told her he liked her. He liked her. In a way that is just across the line of friendship and below the line of romance. Mason had said he basically wanted to share her burdens, and that moved Caroline in a way she hadn't felt before. Noone had ever told her that. But why would they? In all of her existence Caroline had been through and done so many things, some of them questionable, and she had to live with that for so long and kept it buried inside. Noone had ever been concerned for her the way he had.
But he was a werewolf. She was a Vampire and according to the supernatural handbook they were sworn enemies. Why? Because werewolves carried a weapon inside of them that killed Vampires, their venom. And werewolves hated Vampires simply because they are the predatory species. They kill out of hunger, and some for the sake of killing. How could Mason accept her or care for her the same way if he found out what she was?
She knew the answer to that. He wouldn't. He would do what everyone else did and leave.
But what if he was different? Mason saw right through her already. He could tell that she was hurting and had so much going on that he cared enough to call her out on it and try to help her. Would he actually care about her if she told him she was once a heartless killer? That she had the blood of countless on her hands? She doubted it.
Caroline rolled over and looked at her clock. It was close to 4 am and she had been laying there with her mind going in every direction. She decided to forget the idea of sleep and got up. After a quick shower, she dressed in her workout clothes and left the house. She'd be back in time for Elijah's breakfast that she knew he would have hot and ready for her. She had to look for Klaus on her own. This was her problem, and she had to fix it.
Just when she walked onto the porch she was stopped by someones voice saying, "Going somewhere?"
It was Elijah. Of course he heard her. Caroline wasn't exactly the quietest when it came to being around other Vampires. Especially ones who were as old as she was.
"Just thought I'd get started on the search. I coudn't sleep so.." Caroline responded.
"Neither could I. I'll join you."
X
It had been 2 hours and they didn't find anything. Not a sound, not a smell, nothing. Caroline and Elijah hadn't spoken much because they put their undivided attention into finding what they were looking for. They were on the edge of Lockwood property now and they didn't know where else to look. They had covered everywhere. The town, Salvatore property, the whole of Mystic Falls and they still hadn't come close to finding Klaus.
"I don't know where they could be," Caroline said, ready to give up.
"They couldn't have left town. Niklaus still needs Elena and he wouldn't go too far from her," Elijah told her. He could tell she was getting discouraged, and to be honest, he was on the verge of giving up as well.
"You're right, but we've looked all over the place. Unless he left town completely. But why would he do that?"
"I'm not sure, Caroline."
They stopped walking when they came to a certain spot.
"It's changed so much," Elijah said breaking the silence that had fallen.
"But not that much," Caroline replied, "we still recognized it didn't we? You never forget your first home."
They had fallen upon what had used to be their home. Their village. Caroline could still see her and Klaus running around, playing hide and seek. Her eyes wandered and she found the spot her father's hut once stood. It had been torn down after her mother had left. It had been empty, lifeless, so Mikael and the men tore it down and built one for another family.
Caroline continued to walk around, flooded with memories of the past. Every inch of that wood had some sort of tie to her. Then she saw something she hadn't expected.
"Elijah, come here!" she hollered.
Elijah walked over to where Caroline was and was taken aback by what he saw. "He's been here," Elijah stated.
Caroline bent down to the ground and remembered the day it happened. This was where they had buried him. She gathered the wildflowers that had been so carefully placed upon the grave. The unmarked grave that noone but they knew about.
"Klaus left these for Henrik," Caroline choked out through tears. He still blamed himself for Henrik's death. It was something none of them could ever forget. Henrik, though the baby of the family, brought laughter to their hearts and had a sense of adventure about him. He had hoped to one day leave the village and explore, and being Mikael's favorite son, he was encouraged by his father. But he never got the chance.
"This must mean he isn't that far from here. Perhaps right outside of town," Elijah stated.
"Maybe."
"Caroline, I'll continue the search here. You need to go back home and go about your daily life. Klaus and anyone else who is working for him will grow suspicious if they notice you aren't at the school," Elijah told her.
"I can't just let him run loose around here! Someone else could get hurt."
"That's not going to happen," Elijah put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her before she went on her rampage, "He can't be that far. I'll let you know the minute I find anything, I promise."
Caroline looked at him and recognized the look. The look that said, "discussion over." She huffed and said, "fine. I'll go. But, remember, if you find anything."
"I know, I know," Elijah chuckled.
As she turned to leave, she stopped suddenly. This place. People thought these were woods that ran to the end of Mystic Falls, but before there was ever a Mystic Falls, or doppelganger, or curse, or even Vampires, this was her home. She lived here as a child and grew up as a woman here. This was apart of her. Maybe that's why she came back. Perhaps something was pulling her in. She tried to convince herself that it was the doppelganger that made her stay here, but really it was because here, in this place, was the only place she ever felt a home.
"I know it's hard."
Elijah's voice tore her from her thoughts and memories. She shook herself back into composure and nodded, "Yeah. To think that this is where it all began. And where alot of things ended."
He knew she was referring to Klaus. Turning had changed him. It had changed all of them, but mostly Klaus. He was always such a kind boy and a good man. Elijah knew that Klaus secretly hated his father, but like all emotions, it was magnified after turning, and from then on everything changed. Elijah hated his father too. He knew the importance of family and everytime Klaus took a beating or verbal abuse for any of his siblings, Elijah hated Mikael even more. Klaus' selflessness was part of what made Elijah love him, even if they fought over the same girl, deep down it was always family above all.
Caroline watched as Elijah waged an emotional war. His face didn't reveal it, but his eyes showed it. Elijah was like that. Inwardly emotional, never letting it come out unless it overflowed.
She chose to speak before the silence was drawn out anymore, in hopes of changing the subject, "Well, I'd better get going. I know how stubborn you can be and frankly I'm not in the mood to listen to you explain all of the reasons why I should go. So, see you later."
As she walked away she heard Elijah laugh at her. And her heart felt at peace knowing she had made him smile.
After Caroline left, Elijah continued to head north. He kept walking so as not to draw attention to himself if he ran at Vamp speed. As he walked his mind began to drift to places he thought were long forgotten. Opening up the closets of his mind and dusting the skeletons off. Walking through the woods he played in as a child, hunted in as a man, and ran from as a Vampire. It was all too much for him.
Suddenly he heard a rush of leaves move. Someone was following him and it wasn't a "human" someone. As he turned around to see who and what it was that was following him, he was greeted with a voice. A voice that was so familiar, yet foreign. Familiar because he knew who it was, foreign because he hadn't heard it in a long while.
The voice simply said: "Hello, brother."
And then everything went black.
X
8 hours. That's how long it had been since Caroline had seen or heard from Elijah. She knew he said he would contact her but how big was Mystic Falls? He would have covered it three times by now, especially with his speed. Maybe he was home. Maybe he decided to take a nap before he called her. She did wake him up at 4 am. No that was stupid. They were Vampires. They didn't need sleep.
Caroline had gone straight to the school after she left Elijah. It was half a day since the dance was that night.
She tried to distract herself from worrying about Elijah. She ran over the music with the DJ, she made sure the decorations were all in place, had five cups of coffee, got in a debate about the Beatles with the Principal (which she won), and told a few kids that just because the dance theme was the sixties did not give them just cause to try and sneak pot into the dance.
After she left the school time passed slowly. She decided to go home and start getting ready for the dance in hopes of finding Elijah there.
After she walked in the house, Caroline began looking for Elijah. She checked in all the rooms, outside, everywhere and no sign of him. She tried calling him and it went straight to voicemail. Where could he be?!
She was about to leave to go find him when there was a knock at the door. Maybe that's him. He's Elijah, of course he would knock.
But when she opened the door she saw none other than, "Damon."
Damon looked at her with his snide grin and said, "Hey Blondie, miss me?"
"Not in the least."
"Awe, shame," he said putting his hand on his chest, pretending to be hurt.
"What exactly is it that you want, Damon?" Caroline asked, clearly getting annoyed.
"Well if you invite me inside, I'll tell you all about it."
"No way," Caroline replied.
"Awe come on, Blondie. We've already established that you're stronger than me and older than me and can be quite mean. So don't worry about me trying to kiss you again, because I've already been there, done that and suffered many a nightmare from it."
"The same can be said here. Only I don't assault strangers in woods like you do, but the nightmare thing is pretty much the same."
"Normally, when a woman dreams about me it means she has secret feelings for me," Damon said getting as close to her as he could get without running into the barrier.
"Hmm unfortunately for you and fortunately for the rest of mankind my feelings for you aren't secret. In fact I believe I'll shout from the rooftops how much I hate you," Caroline replied showing her million dollar "suck it" smile.
He glared at her and replied, "Caroline, what I have to tell you is serious. It's about Klaus."
All fun and games left Caroline's mind after hearing "Klaus."
She walked over the threshold of her door and said, "I'm not inviting you in. Tell me what you know or stop wasting my time."
Damon figured he might as well tell her before she ripped his throat out, "rumor has it he's kidnapped Tyler Lockwood."
Caroline scoffed and said, "yeah I knew that."
"What?! You knew that and you didn't think to fill us in?!" he said angrily.
"Well it didn't seem to stop you from finding out. Would it really have mattered, Salvatore?"
"Yes it would've! We could've come up with a plan to find him by now! I thought, despite our differences, that we established a level of trust."
"Honestly, Damon, I've been so busy trying to find him and Klaus and protect Elena, that you kind of slipped my mind."
She noticed his hurt expression, a genuine expression.
"Damon, I'm sorry. I honestly did forget to tell anyone else."
"Save it, Caroline. I don't care if you're sorry or not. Just next time you have a vital piece of information, be sure to share it with us. People who can help you," he said as he turned around to walk off of Caroline's porch.
"Damon, wait."
He turned to look at her and said, "You know for someone who's been around for as long as you have, you have a problem with trusting other people. You try to solve everything yourself, without the help of people who care about you and want to protect you."
"That's not true," Caroline denied.
Damon walked up the stairs and stopped inches from her face. As soon as he got close to her she backed away.
"See? You won't let anyone get close to you. Physically or emotionally. Why?," Damon stated.
Caroline realized what he meant and gave him the most honest answer she had. "Because they always leave."
"So you judge everyone by your past experiences?"
"Like you said, I've been around."
"So because of that you let yourself miss out on the experiences and relationships you could have right now?"
She didn't answer him. Because he was right. She was stuck in the past. She refused to set herself up for pain and be brave and take a leap. Mason had basically handed that to her last night, but she was too afraid to take it.
"You know what? When you're ready to trust someone, come find me," he said and walked away.
And she stood there. Alone on her porch once again. Just like everyone else, Damon had walked away. And she was certain she felt the autumn chill wisp by her, reminding her she was on her own.
X
Caroline walked into the school gym and was greeted with teenagers dancing and music blasting. Laughter and fun all around her, yet she didn't feel much joy. Yes, she was satisfied that all of her hard work finally pulled off, but something was missing. She couldn't quite point it out, but she felt like she should feel happy tonight. It was her first dance after all.
She kept trying to call Elijah. Came close to leaving and trying to find him, but remembered what he said. It would raise suspicion if she didn't stick to her plans.
She had decided to impersonate the classic Jackie Kennedy. Hat and all. Of course the outfit was modest with a touch of pizzaz with her skirt coming a few inches above her knee. Still teachery of course. Now she had met the actual Jackie Kennedy. Once. So it was an honor to play her for one night. She didn't have the raven black hair, but Caroline believed she had a spark of class, in her own way.
After making her way through the crowd of dancing teens she found several of her fellow teachers. Caroline chatted with them for a few minutes then began to walk around again. She saw Stefan and Elena dancing, Bonnie with Jeremy, and Damon in between two girls. He probably seduced them into dancing with him.
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Mason Lockwood. Decked out in a suit and tie with his hair slicked back and a smile on his face.
"Mrs. Kennedy, I presume?" he said in his best Massachusetts accent. It sounded awful but it was worth a shot.
"You presumed correctly, mister...?" she pretended not to recognize who he was.
"Kennedy. John Kennedy, but my friends call me Jack," he said taking her hand a kissing it, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Someone paid attention in their history class," she said, ending the game.
Mason chuckled and said, "actually I read up on him last night. As I recall, I dreamed very pleasant dreams in my history class."
Caroline laughed and realized she was actually happy to see him.
The song changed to a slow one and Mason extended his hand to her and said, "May I have this dance, Mrs. Kennedy?"
She took it and replied, "you may, Mr. President."
As they danced, they didn't say much. She had a feeling that later on in the night, he would ask questions, but right now she didn't feel like talking. She just wanted to enjoy this dance with Mason. With his hand on the small of her back and his face inches from hers. The world almost faded away. Almost. There was always the whisper of everything that was happening in the shadows following her and it haunted her.
Sooner than she expected the song ended. Mason guided her off of the dance floor and offered her some punch. Then the talking began.
"So what's on your mind?' Mason asked, getting straight to the point.
Caroline immediately answered with a "nothing."
He looked at her, his eyes saying "haven't we discussed this already?" She didn't mean to shut him out. It was a habit, one she had gotten used to over the past oh...1000 years? It was hard to break.
She shrugged and said, "okay. Someone I haven't seen in a long time may be here and all he does is cause trouble and hurt people and I'm trying to protect myself and my friends from him, but by doing that I have to also protect people by not telling them the entire truth."
That was the gist of it. Right? She never said anything about Vampires or Original stuff, just the basics.
Before, he could respond to her ramble, Elena and Stefan walked up to them.
"Caroline! You look wonderful tonight," Elena said, hugging Caroline.
Stefan shook Mason's hand and spoke to him and greeted Caroline with a hug. He didn't say much, as Damon filled him in on Caroline and his confrontation from earlier that day. There wasn't much to say, really. The hug really said it all, "I understand and I'm here if you want to talk."
"So, the Kennedy's?" Stefan asked, noticing their costumes.
"Not intentionally," Caroline said.
"Really?" Stefan grinned.
"Yes, really," Mason chimed in.
As their conversation progressed, the next song began to play. Caroline didn't notice it at first, but when the words started, she froze. The control freak coming to the surface.
"How could this happen?! I distinctly ran over that list! TWICE!" Caroline said, starting to freak out a little bit.
Mason cupped her elbow, trying to calm her and said, "What is it? What's wrong?"
'The song! This is NOT a 1960's song!"
Mason started listening to the words: "You're lovely with your smile so warm and you're cheeks so soft. There is nothing for me, but to love you and the way you look tonight."
"Caroline, it's just a song."
"I have to go yell at the DJ. I'll be right back."
As she was walking towards the DJ, she muttered all of the different names she could call this DJ.
When she got to the stand, she yelled, "Hey! Who told you to play this song?! I specifically gave you instructions and a list with only 1960's songs in it! This song that is playing was written in 1936!"
"I believe the fault lies with me."
Caroline froze. It was his voice. He was here. Oh god.
AHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so happy this chapter is DONE! I cannot TELL you how long it has taken me to write it., and I cannot BEGIN to thank ALL of you for your patience. You are the best readers anyone could ever ask for. :)
So here we are! Klaus' first official appearance in HIS body. Please don't kill me for the cliffhanger, but it's after midnight where I am and I have a child to babysit in the morning.
Also, where is Elijah? We shall see, won't we? *laughs*
Please leave your thoughts, questions, comments, concerns, and follow! Thank you my lovelies for your patience and devotion to this story! i couldn't write it without you!
Cheerio!