Chapter 27: Blonde Brigade.
Caroline felt alert and clearheaded, but somehow her brain had partly lost connection to her tongue. It had problems with formulatiing her thoughts, making her sound like she had cotton wool in her mouth. She was sitting on the edge of Rebekah's bed, swinging her legs.
They had been playing truth and dare for hours, the questions becoming more and more complicated and outrageous. Neither of them really cared much about the answers, as they had only just met and didn't know each other at all.
"Well ... " Rebekah was laying on the bed, her bottle of Everclear almost empty and her voice sounding a bit dreamy, "You're at a party, you're wasted and all yout ex-boyfriends are there, you know; Damon and those Matt and Tyler guys. They've all been hitting on you all night and around midnight they get into a fight over you ... Which ones will you knock out and which one will you go home with?"
Caroline snorted. "Well, that's beyond easy. I'd punch the daylights out of Damon and Tyler and go home with Matt ... " She frowned. "Though, Tyler and I never actually dated."
"No?" Rebekah closed her eyes. "This Matt guy do sound great. You have to introduce me to him some day."
"No, I won't, "she shook her head vehemently and the room started spinning. "Matt's a good guy and I mean really, really good. He deserves better than to end up as your breakfast."
"Hey!" Rebekah rolled over on her back. "If he's as wonderful as you say I'll save him for dinner. Maybe even as the main course."
"Oh, he will be so flattered." Caroline took a swig from her bottle, coming back up for air, coughing violently.
"This stuff really kicks ass! "she wheezed.
"Well, vampires need a little extra to get a buzz. Your turn to ask."
"Alright, Rebekah; truth or dare?"
"Oh, what a decision ... "Rebekah rested the back of her hand against her forehead, like a swooning actress from the 20's. "Truth!"
"Oh, I wasn't expecting that ... " Caroline touched her fingertips to her collarbone. "How about this; which one of your brothers is your favourite?"
Rebekah's eyes narrowed. "That's a really unfair question."
"You said you were going to eat my ex!"
"Fine, but I am going to kill you with my next question." Rebekah sat up slowly. "Kol is definitely out and so is Finn, I guess ... I don't really know him, anymore. So it's either Elijah or Nik."
"I thought you chose Klaus over Elijah?"
"No, I chose him over Kol."
"Wauw!" It wasn't funny, but Caroline giggled nonetheless. "You really must hate Kol."
"I don't hate Kol." Rebekah frowned. "I just want to remove his intestines and use them as a jump rope, then boil him slowly in sulfuric acid and grind his bones to dust. But that doesn't mean hate."
"No?"
Rebekah waved a hand dissmissively. "You wouldn't understand. You don't have any siblings. It's more like a tsunami of harassment and endless paybacks."
"If you say so."
Rebekah's eyes narrowed again. "Caroline, truth or dare?"
Caroline tried to mirror her expression, but ended up looking bleary-eyed instead. She knew which question was coming now and she wasn't quite drunk enough for it yet. She had to buy some time, her bottle was only half empty. She took a long drink, not coughing as much this time. "Dare!"
"Oh, come on!" Rebekah slammed her hand down on the mattress, which didn't really have the desired effect. "We agreed not to say dare. There is nothing to do in this house."
"Well, you said truth or dare."
"Alright." Rebekah looked at her thoughtfully for a minute. "Do you have your cell phone?"
Caroline snickered. "You really think Klaus would let me keep my phone?"
"You can use mine, then." Rebekah got up, stumbling a bit on her way to the dresser. She grabbed her phone and threw it to Caroline with surprising precision. "I want you to send some dirty messages to Nik."
"From your phone?" Caroline frowned. "Isn't that kind of gross?"
"He doesn't have my number. He won't know it's from mine ... Or would you rather change your answer to truth?"
"No, "Caroline felt a grin spread over her face. "This may actually be fun."
(Break)
Damon woke with a start. The room was dark and quiet. He had no idea what had woken him. Until it came again. A loud chanting coming from the next room. He sighed, getting out of bed and walking into the hall. He opened the door to Darwin's room.
Darwin was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, several burning candles placed in a circle around him. His eyes were closed and that strange chanting was definitely coming from him.
"Ok, what's going on? Are you trying to do magic?"
"Nope, "Kol was stretched out on the bed, looking through a comic book. "Just meditating to increase stamina for tomorrow night."
Damon frowned. "Uh huh, and what's that smell?"
"Sandalwood incense."
"Look, I hate to complain ..."
"No, you don't, "Kol smirked. "But don't worry, it'll be over soon."
"That's all I'm asking." Damon closed the door and went downstairs and into the parlour to get a drink.
Alaric was sitting on a couch, the tv casting an eerie light over his gloomy face.
"It's four in the morning, Rick. Why aren't you asleep?"
Alaric sighed. "Jenna called last night. She wants to see me Sunday. She said, she has an answer for me."
Damon poured himself a drink. "So, now is the time to come clean about everything?"
"Yes."
"Wauw." Damon gave him an assessing look. "Do you want a drink?"
Alaric shook his head slowly. "No, I have to stay alert for my duel tonight."
"Of course."
"But that's it." He finally looked up at Damon, his expression tired but also surprisingly serene. "Tonight will be the last time. I can't do this anymore. You know, drinking myself into a coma each night. I can't keep pretending I'm still a college student. It's not cute, anymore. I have responsibilities now; I'm going to be a father and the people of this town trust me with their kids every day, not to mention all the supernatural crap this world keep throwing at us. It's time to get my life back on track instead of trying to run away from it."
"Well ... " Damon sat down beside him, "We've had a lot of fun and I'd like to say that I disagree, but I don't. You have the chance to get something that I'll never have. And never wanted, to be honest, but it would've been nice to have the option. And who knows? Maybe it's the right path for you, buddy. You would be an idiot to not at least give it a shot."
Alaric smiled wryly. "What happened to; 'It's a man trap'?
"What do I know?" Damon patted him on the shoulder. "You've done it once and if you're willing to do it again, so it can't be that bad."
(Break)
Klaus' phone beeped, waking him from his sleep. It didn't take a lot, the past couple of centuries' paranoia had made him a light sleeper. He grabbed his phone, blinking at it.
ID: Unknown.
He opened the message.
Unknown said: Hey, love. What are you wearing?
He frowned.
I said: Who is this?
Unknown said: Your dream lover. Take off your shirt and I'll come and EAT you.
I said: As tempting as that sounds, I think you've got the wrong number.
Unknown said: What? This is not my favourite Original? The one with a beastly side?
His frown deepened.
I said: Who is this?
Unknown said: Who do you want me to be, love?
He shook his head and put down the phone, but something made him pick it up again with its next beep.
Unknown said: I'm in a catsuit. Meow! Wanna come chase me up a tree?
I said: I'm not sure.
Unknown said: I'll rub my pheromones all over you!
I said: Ok, who is this?
Nothing happened for a couple of minutes and he had almost gone back to sleep, when the beep came again. He sighed and picked up the phone again.
Unknown said: This is Claws. xoxo
He slammed down the phone, jumped out of bed and pulled on his jeans.
"Rebekah! "he bellowed as he walked down the hall. He heard laughing, and not just Rebekah's.
He opened the door to her room, seeing two girls squirming with laughter on the bed. "You do that again, Bekah, and Claws becomes Declaws!"
"Oh! Oh, don't worry, darling, it was me!" Caroline sat up, swinging a bottle.
He blinked. "It was you?"
"Yes, of course, "she gave him a watery smile, while Rebekah wiped tears from her face, "You just got tricked by the Blonde Brigade."
"Blonde Brigade? Really? Isn't that a little cliché?"
"Well, "Rebekah sent him a drunken glare, "You try to come up with something better when you're on almost an entire bottle of Everclear."
He nodded slowly. "Everclear, huh? 75 or 95%?
"95."
"Ooh, "he stepped into the room and snapped his fingers. "Gimme!"
Caroline snickered, reaching into a bag on the floor and pulling out a bottle. She threw it to him, missing by a yard, but luckily he was fast. He caught it by the neck.
"That was impressive!" Caroline swung her own bottle again, accidently pouring liquor down the front of her shirt. "Oh! No one light a match near me right now!"
Klaus smiled and turned around. "I'll bring you some dry clothes from your closet."
"No, Klaus!" Caroline were on her feet in a second, shaking him forcibly by the shoulders. "You need to get out of that closet, you hear me?!"
"What?"
"I mean, you buying me dresses. It's cute, but really not manly."
Klaus frowned, turning a thunderous glare on his sister. "Rebekah, what have you told her?"
Rebekah snorted with laughter. "Just that you like to dress up women ... Hey!"
She held up a hand as he took a step towards her. "I owe you much worse than that for what you did to me."
"Fine." He turned back to Caroline. "Look, I ..."
"Mmm, you smell good." She leaned forward, burying her face in his tshirt.
"Caroline ..."
"No seriously!" She grabbed him by the shoulders again, rubbing her face against his chest. "Musky and hormoney ... and a bit flowery."
"Yeah, that's Mrs. Atwood's fabric softener." He felt her teeth through the shirt. "Ow! Did you just bite me?"
"You taste good, too. Quite potent ... Are you wearing underwear?"
"Caroline ..."
"What?" She took a step back, swaying and looking at him through her eye lashes. "You've seen me naked, it's only fair I get to see you naked as well."
He looked at Rebekah for help, but she was busy snickering into her pillow. He sighed, pulled the cap off his bottle and took a long drink.
"Just a peek then." Her nails wandered down his chest and he stepped backwards out of her reach.
"No, Caroline."
"Listen, wolfboy, "she moved right back into his personal space. "You are planning to kill my best friend and you've kidnapped and imprisoned me. This is as easy as it's ever going to be for you."
He wanted her, there was no denying that. In fact, he wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone in his whole life, even Tatia. He wanted her for her beauty, for her spirit, for the way she was fighting her obvious attraction to him, knowing that she eventually would have to either give in or lose her mind.
He knew, however, that she was painfully young, maybe not even 18 yet and that she was forever stuck on the brink to womanhood. But all they had was time and he could wait. Wait until her mind had matured and he knew for sure that this was more than a schoolgirl's crush. And if it took months or years or even decades made absolutely no difference to him.
"Well, ..." He reached out running his thumb over her lower lip. "Maybe I don't want it to be easy, love."
She smiled, leaning in towards him and he could feel her cool breath on his mouth. She smelled like alcohol and coconuts.
"Fine. But I hope you realise that you are not the only one in this house, who enjoys playing mind games. I do, too and you are going down."
She moved even closer. And closer, until her blue eyes filled his vision and their lips were nearly touching. Then ...
Music started blaring and she spun around, almost falling over. "Oh God, I just love The Black Eyed Peas!"
Klaus ran his fingers through his hair, realising that his hand was shaking slightly. He took another long drink from the bottle, letting the strong liquor steady his nerves.
Rebekah was jumping on the bed, swinging her hair wildly. Caroline started a stumbling dance, her bottle qiuckly becoming a part of it.
He watched them while mixed feelings of amusement and unease were building in the pit of his stomach.
"No fakin', I know you see me shakin' and the way I break it down I've got the whole earth quakin'!" Caroline shouted along with the radio.
"Well, that's safe to say, "he mumbled, touching the teethmarks in his tshirt.
(Break)
(7.54 in the evening.)
"The rules are simple: You drink the same amount of shots and you drink on the clock, one shot every five minutes. The loser is whoever falls down or throws up first. Got that?"
Kol looked from Alaric to Darwin and back again. They were both nodding, their eyes locked on each other. Alaric looked thoughtful, while Darwin wore a completely neutral expression on his face, boardering on zen.
"Good, we start in a couple of minutes." Kol turned and grabbed a bottle of tequila from the kitchen counter, then frowned. "There are only eleven, there's suposed to be thirteen."
"Finn took a couple with him to his room." Stefan was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed losely over his chest.
"Finn? Are you sure?"
"Yes. You honestly think we need more than eleven?"
Kol shook his head, filling two shot glasses. "No, it's just weird."
He placed one glass in front of Alaric and one in front of Darwin. "Alright, ten seconds."
They still remained strangely unmoving, but Kol thought with a grin that that would be over in less than an hour.
"3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Now!"
They drained their glasses, slamming them back down on the table. Alaric grimaced and Darwin actually coughed, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. He sent Kol a dubious look.
"Suddenly feeling human, little brother?" Kol asked with a smirk.
Darwin's eyes narrowed. "I can do this. You'll see."
"Sure." Kol filled their glasses again.
Eight shots later and it was clear that Alaric was holding up better than Darwin. But Kol had seen Alaric drink before. He knew that he usually stayed cool throughout the entire ordeal, only to suddenly keel over.
It could still go either way.
He looked at his watch. "Ok, now."
They drained their ninth shots. Darwin threw his glass through the air and it smashed against the wall.
"Oops! Old hobbit ... I mean habit."
Kol gave him a new glass, filling it and then Alaric's. Stefan picked up the pieces.
Damon entered the kitchen. "Just heard glass breaking. Is it getting interesting, yet?"
Kol handed him a bottle from the counter. "Oh, a little. Alaric is keeping up appearances, while Thorstar's viking genes seem to be failing him ... Elijah's still boycotting the event?"
"Yeah." Damon took a drink of tequila and grimaced. "God, this stuff is vile! ... He said, he'd rather burn his suits than participate in this absurd travesty."
"Whoa! That sounds serious." Kol checked his watch. "Eight seconds, guys."
Damon caught a movement in the corner of his eye. "Rick, you just swayed!"
"No, I didn't." He held himself straight and perfectly still.
"Dude, that's desturbing to watch, "Kol commented. "You look even more constipated than Finn ... Drink now."
"We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot, Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"
Kol and Damon looked at each other. "What the Hell is that?!"
"We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"
Someone came trampling down the stairs, and Kol frowned. "Is that ... "
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"
" ... Finn?"
Finn swung himself into the kitchen with a grip on the doorframe. He was dressed in sweatpants and a black vest. "Good evening, friends and family! Need me another bottle."
Damon snorted. "Don't tell me you acually like that stuff."
Finn waved a hand. "Well, not the first one, but the second was absolutely devine!"
Kol tried to stiffle a laugh. "Don't say 'devine', Finn."
"Why not?" He ran his knuckles over Kol's head. "Am I stealing your thunder, Kolster?"
"Ow! No!" Kol took a cautious step back. "What's wrong with you, Finn?"
"Nothing." Finn grabbed a bottle. "You just have to get used to the fact that I, Finn, now come with an attitude!"
"I like that." Darwin hiccoughed. "Sassy uncle Finn."
"That's right." Finn bowed clumsily and swaggered back out of the room.
"You know, "Damon said, thoughtfully. "Men turn to wolves, vamps turn human and people come back from the dead ... but that was weird!"
AN: Danes: Anyone remember 'Sassy onkel Finn?' Whatever happened to him?
Next chapter: The winner is announced and brothers get into a fight.