Chapter 5
So this is what being the new kid feels like.
The moment I entered the room everyone and I mean everyone looked up to stare at me.
Jesus, I can practically smell all the judgment in the room.
I didn't bother talking to the coach who sat at his desk scribbling stuff down on a piece of paper and just sat down at an empty seat next to Stiles. He immediately turned to face me and we started a game of twenty questions.
"Where's Scott? Isn't he supposed to have this class with us?"
"Um...I don't know." Stiles answered quickly. Too quickly. But I didn't question him like I normally would if I had known him for longer than a day. So the game went on.
Although I tried to focus on my game with Stiles, I couldn't help but listen to the conversation of two girls who sat behind me who were whispering to each other back and forth when I heard the words 'new girl'
"Look at her. She thinks she's better than all of us because she has a nice car, expensive clothes and is pretty." One them said
"Just another Lydia. Although I don't know why she's giving that dork the time of day." The other said
I ignored them even though I was pretty curious as to who Lydia is. If I had to bet, I would say she is the 'Queen' of this school. And it really pissed me off that there calling Stiles a dork. Yes he's not the coolest dude on the outside, but his personality definitely makes up for it as far as I can tell.
So I didn't really waste time paying attention to them. I had no reason to and at this point in my life I could care less about what people think about me when I could snap their neck in a second. Literally.
Coach Finstock finally started class and I barely paid attention. God I forgot how boring school could be. I really wish I could be somewhere else right now. Like in New Orleans, shopping for clothes I really don't need.
I stayed lost in my mind, thinking about the cute clothes I suddenly have the urge to buy. I need to find the nearest mall in this place, or maybe do some online shopping.
"I guess beauty, pretty clothes and cars are the only thing she has going for her." Somebody mumbled behind me and before I could stop myself I turned around and gave her my most vicious glare, cheering internally when she flinched and looked away.
I turned back around to find Coach staring at me expectantly with his hands on his hip.
"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?" I asked him wish a sheepish smile.
"Who...are...you?" He asked slowly in a condescending tone, making the class laugh
"I'm Caroline Forbes. The new student."
"Well Caroline Forbes the new student," he says "since you seem to know so much that you weren't paying any attention what is the Northwest Ordinance?" The smirk on his gave irritated me to no end and I couldn't think of something I wanted to do more than wipe it off.
The kids in the class started snickering the longer I took to answer.
Fucking idiots.
"The Northwest Ordinance defined the process by which new states could be admitted into the Union from the Northwest Territory." I started, loving the surprised look on their faces "The ordinance forbade slavery in the territory but allowed citizens to vote on the legality of slavery once statehood had been established. The Northwest Ordinance was the most lasting measure of the national government under the Articles of Confederation." I continued, a smirk on my face as every jaw in the room went slack. Talk about an ego boost.
Unexpectedly instead of being flustered Coach Finstock only smirked, and said "I like you. You've got spunk. You might be the only one here with a working brain. Other than me, of course."
I glanced at Stiles with a grin on my face when he said as quietly as he could "Dude, that was freaking awesome."
The rest of the class and first half of the day flew by and before I knew it, lunch had arrived. My class before lunch was art and none of the boys were in there. I didn't really talk to anyone except for a couple guys that wanted to talk about my car. Everyone else was too busy talking behind my back to actually speak to me. Also, apparently Stiles is my boyfriend and I moved to Beacon Hills for him. I can't believe I forgot how brutal high school could be and how fast rumors could spread.
'What is wrong with you Caroline? You're a vampire. You could kill everybody in this room in a couple seconds and you're standing here like a fucking loner.' I screamed in my head.
With that mental ass kick, I held my head high and walked towards an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria. When I checked my phone and found no missed calls, I couldn't help but worry a bit. Not once since we started talking to each other like civilized people did Klaus miss one of my calls. Even when he has some king-y stuff to do.
"Heyyy" Stiles sang, scaring the shit out of me as he sat down across from me
"Thank you so much for scaring the shit out of me"
"You...are very welcome"
"So where's Scott? I haven't seen him all day." Apparently all the classes I have with Stiles, I have with Scott. But I haven't seen him all day.
"He just got here." I waited for him to elaborate but when he didn't so I changed the subject
"So what's not gonna kill me in that lunch line?"
"Today? Nothing. The rest of the week? Everything."
I got up and started walking towards the lunch line, my bag on my shoulders, with Stiles behind me.
"You can leave your bag on the table you know."
"This is a two hundred dollar bag. I'm not taking any chances." I replied as we reached the line
The mumbled "That's more than my freaking clothes are worth." From him had me chuckling
The smell of food finally hit me and I'm not embarrassed to say that my mouth watered a bit. Although I had a good breakfast this morning I didn't have any blood and being in a room full of teenagers isn't helping so I need food. Lots of it. Right now.
I stood in front of Stiles laughing as he pointed out people, telling me who they are and their role on the social ladder in what I'm finding out to be his usual sarcastic tone. Finally it was my turn and I ordered a pepperoni pizza, spicy chicken patty, steak fries, and a water bottle. Starving is not enough to describe the state I am in. I pulled out my wallet and paid before moving out the line. I looked around a bit as I waited for Stiles to finish his order.
In my jacket pocket, my phone started vibrating so as I walked with Stiles I handed him my packed lunch tray and walked out of the cafeteria quickly. As quickly as I could in five inch ankle boots anyway.
The hallway was deserted, the only sound being my heels clicking on the floor and my breathing. I pulled out my phone and frowned when I saw who was calling
"Hey Kara, everything okay?" I asked worry in my voice as my mind went to the worst case scenario. Especially with Klaus not answering my call.
"Everything is fine, love. But it's nice to know you care" Klaus' voice flowed through the receiver.
"Why are you calling me from Kara's phone?" I asked, not bothering to comment on his earlier words.
"Well, it would seem that I have misplaced mine and my very beautiful daughter allowed me to borrow hers." The giggling that followed his words told me that Kara was right next to him. I have never met a girl more protective of her phone than Kara Mikaelson.
Then I remembered why I called him earlier in the first place.
"Why am I in junior classes, Klaus? I specifically remember saying to put me in senior." I hissed out
"I know what you said, love. But I figured you would want to stay in the bum-fuck town for more than a few months." I frowned knowing his logic made sense, seeing as junior year is almost over. I would never admit it though. Klaus doesn't need a bigger ego. "Hence why you are now once again a junior in high school."
I could practically hear the smirk he was sporting on his face right now.
I stayed silent for a bit before saying "You should've at least warned me." And hanging up before he could respond.
I took a deep breath and walked back towards the lunch room. What I saw almost made my jaw drop and explained Scotts' absence today.
Scott. Making. Out. With. A. Girl. And from what I could see a very beautiful girl at that.
Oh, this is awesome. They we're both so into it that they didn't even notice me standing there, a huge smile on my face.
When they started to paw at each other's clothes I cleared my throat, laughing out loud when they jumped apart as if they were suddenly burned by each other.
"Caroline!" Scott exclaimed when he saw me
"Hey, Scott" I said walking towards them "who's your friend?"
"Um, Caroline this is uh Allison" he stuttered out "Allison this is Caroline"
I looked at Allison properly for the first time and couldn't help but understand what Scott saw in her. She has long dark brown hair that is currently a French braid, with pale skin for a person who lived in California. Her dark brown eyes worked perfectly with her pale skin. But her best feature is definitely her jaw. I have never, ever seen a girl with such a jaw line. It is curved perfectly to go with her round-ish head. She had on a simple outfit- black tights, white sweatshirt and a beanie- that made me feel overdressed.
"Nice to meet you, Allison" I say giving her my biggest smile
"Nice to meet you too." She answered with a warm and friendly smile in return
"So I'm guessing this is what you've been doing all day." I say to both of them with a cheeky smile and chuckle when they both blush
"Caroline, you can't tell anyone about this. Please." Scott begged, and when I looked over to Allison I could see her holding her breath as they waited for my answer
"Of course I won't. Forbidden love is the best." The look of relief on their faces was kinda funny
"You should be more careful about where you have your make out sessions. I could've been someone else." With those dramatic final words I walked back into the cafeteria.
This time I didn't stand by the doors and headed straight for the table where Stiles was sitting.
"I'm pretty sure your food is cold. Can I have it?"
"Ha-Ha! No." I monotoned and sat down, immediately popping a couple fries into my mouth.
Not a long while after I sat down Scott came back and sat down next to me. I couldn't help but wiggle my eyebrows at him in a suggestive manor while mouthing 'Allison' to him, giggling at the blush on his face. Since the lunch line was closed I pushed my plate towards Scott and we shared my food. And Stiles of course pouted about it until I shared with him too.
The rest of the lunch passed with Allison and Scott sharing what they thought were secret looks from across the cafeteria, Stiles cracking jokes, and me stuffing my face while getting to know them a bit better.
Something kept bugging me though.
This wet dog smell was everywhere and nowhere. My nose, which I've learned to rely on, was not being very helpful. The smell tickled my nose and brain, but for the life of my I couldn't pin-point what it was. I know that the smell is definitely supernatural and it had that werewolf tint to it but I refuse to believe that this town could actually have werewolves in it.
I put the thought to the back of my brain because if I focused on it I would go nuts, and I don't really want to ruin my stay in this town when I just got here by over thinking things. I'm probably just being paranoid.
Yup, that's it. Paranoid.
Too many grueling hours of listening to boring lectures and people running their mouths later, it was finally my last class of the day. Gym.
I was hoping to be able to just sit around because it's my first day but sadly that was not the case. Apparently today was climbing day or some shit like that. According to the boys this happened at least once a month and no one was allowed to sit out. When I used the excuse that I had nothing to wear going to stay out of this, Coach found some old uniforms for me.
Small and inappropriate is probably an understatement for what these clothes are. The shirt is honestly so small that I could barely move and if I raise my hand half of my mid-riff would show. Not to mention that if the shorts were an inch shorter my butt would be hanging out. Usually I have no problem with such clothes but not when I have to climb a rope in front of an entire class.
I had no choice but to change into the clothes so I headed to the girls locker room, a scowl on my face. All the other girls had already changed meaning I had the locker room to myself. After changing into what I am now calling stripper clothes, I took my time folding my dress and jacket before placing them, along with my boots and bags in my assigned locker and locking it. I had no choice but to stay barefoot seeing as the boots I had on weren't exactly cut out for gym class.
When I got outside everyone was circled around two ropes that were hanging from the ceiling and two of the students were climbing as everyone cheered on. One of the students is a boy and the other a girl. To my surprise the girl was Allison and she was kicking the dudes butt and I found myself cheering her on. Until I saw that the kid was Stiles. Slowly the crowd thinned out as everybody took their turn going up and down the rope with coach screaming at them. Finally only four people were left- me, Scott, a shy, pretty girl with wavy blond hair and some other dude who is obviously a jock from the air of arrogance just swimming around him- and it was time for Scott and I to go. But there was no way in hell I'm going to climb up a rope with everyone watching me and my butt cheeks hanging out so I went to try to talk some sense into coach. He, of course, didn't listen to me and instead threatened to have me run laps for the rest of the year if I don't do this.
I don't think I've ever met somebody so unreasonable, and I know Damon Salvatore.
I sighed looking up at the ceiling, before heading towards the rope. As I walked by a group of jocks blocked my way to the ropes, whistling, but one glare from me and they moved out of the way.
Scott was already standing by the ropes, talking to Stiles.
"-turned Isaac" was all I heard of their conversation-which stopped the second I reached them.
My curiosity was peeked and I wanted to question them about what they were talking about, but it was honestly none of my business seeing I've only known them for literally one day.
"You ready?" Scott questioned, but I just shrugged in response and walked towards one of the ropes.
"Ready...Set...GO" Screamed Finstock
I leapt off the floor with enough vamp strength to get me higher than Scott, but not enough to make people suspicious. And it was honestly a struggle with these tight ass clothes on but if there is one thing I am, it is competitive and losing is not something I stand for. Seeing as when I was cheer captain back in Mystic Falls I used to make my girls do this, I am practically a pro. And being a vampire just added to my ability to win.
When I looked over at Scott, he was struggling a bit but still began to get slightly higher than me. So I stepped my game up. I held on to the rope with my hands, letting my feet dangle, and pulled myself up quickly by doing weird little jumps and quickly catching the rope to make sure I didn't fall on my face.
My palms were burning so I had to hurry up. Some people were cheering me on, while others-mostly his teammates- cheered Scott on. Stiles just stood there, with his jaw unhinged, looking shocked that I could keep up with Scott. Finally I reached the bell at the top a couple seconds before Scott and rang it. The climb back down was much easier and when my feet touched the floor I had a grin so huge, I thought my face would split in half.
"What the hell? Are you like part monkey or something?" Stiles exclaimed, his hand flying wildly
I didn't have time to answer because Coach made an exclamation of his own
"How the hell is it that a barely 110 pounds, 5 foot 5 girl just beat one of my best players?! Maybe she should be co-captain of the team." He bitched at Scott, who hung his head, though I could see a twitch on his lips
"Jesu- Erica get on the ropes. Let's do this. Go, go, go, I don't have all day." He continued
The girl-Erica- jumped a bit before taking small steps towards the rope, tucking her wavy blond hair behind her ears with shaky hands. The jock whose name was apparently Jackson walked towards the rope with a confident stride that showed he obviously thinks he is better than everyone in this gym.
As Erica grabbed the rope with shaking hands, I focused on her even more and I could see her whole body shaking. Using my hearing I could hear her heart pounding in her chest so fast I was afraid it would burst out of her chest. When Coach screamed "GO" she hesitated for a second before starting her climb. By the time she got half way up the rope, Jackson had already rung the bell and was coming down with a smug smile on his face.
Erica on the other hand was frozen and I could hear her sobs loud and clear. My heart clenched.
A murmur ran through the crowd and at first I couldn't make out what they were saying until some asshole yelled out "freak" and everybody else except for Scott, Allison, and Stiles-who had disappeared- followed suit. Erica's sobbing just kept getting louder and louder as Finstock tried to coax her down but without much success.
I glided towards Erica, my feet barely making any noise on the floor, and said in my most soothing voice
"Erica? Erica, can you hear me?" Nothing.
"Nod if you can hear me, Erica." I get a slight nod but then she starts hyperventilating
All of a sudden, Allison shouts "Coach, she's epileptic!" When did she get back in the gym?
That would actually explain a lot.
Out of nowhere Erica starts falling and before I can catch her without revealing myself as a vampire to a gym full of teenagers she smacks down on the mat. Thankfully, she doesn't seem to be hurt.
People in the gym starts laughing and calling her names like "pariah" and "freak"
"Will you all shut the fuck up?" I snapped
"A person can die from an epileptic seizure, yet you fuck-tards keep laughing at her and making things worse." I continued, feeling a sick sense of satisfaction when they were all shocked into silence. They stared in a shocked silence for a couple more seconds before my heated glare made them uncomfortable enough to scatter.
When only Erica, Finstock and I were left in the gym, a soft voice whispered "Thank you."
"No big deal" I say, sitting next to her on the cool, hardwood floor
There is nothing in this world I hate more than bullies.
"Are you okay now?" I questioned after a couple minutes of silence and the color started coming back to her face.
"Yeah. You can go change if you want. You don't have to stay with me." She says shyly, with her head down
"You're not coming to the locker room?" I questioned
"In a bit. I want to be alone for a while."
"Alright, see you." I say after staring at her for a few seconds
When I got back into the locker room I made sure to focus my hearing on her as I changed, to make sure she is okay. Right when I finished zipping my boots, I heard a commotion out in the gym so I quickly grabbed my bag and rushed out just in time to see Scott catch Erica as she fell off the rope she was obviously trying to climb.
I rushed forward as I saw Erica shake and convulse in Scotts' arms, fear gripping my heart.
"What happened?" I rushed out when she started shaking even more
"She tried to climb the rope again." Scott answered, frantically stop her from moving to much
"Shit." I breathe "We need to get her to a hospital." I say already walking towards the door when I notice her eyes start to roll into the back of her head
"I'll drive" I shouted over my shoulder.
Scott and I run through the nearly empty halls and head outside. By the time we reached my car, my keys were already out and I had unlocked the car. Students stood around whispering and pointing, but we paid them no mind as I opened the door and Scott placed Erica in the front seat. We ran to the driver's side of the car and I pulled the seat forward so Scott could climb in the back before I pushed the chair back in its place and got in myself. All this in less than a minute. Before the car door was fully closed I had already shoved the key into the ignition and backed out of my parking space as fast as I could without running someone over.
"The hospital is only about 5 minutes from here." Scott informed me as I sped like crazy, grateful that no cops were around.
The short car ride was silent except for the occasional pained moan from Erica and at the speed I went we reached the hospital in 2 minutes. I parked crazily in a 'No Parking' zone out front before jumping out, with Scott right behind me. He opened the door and gently pulled Erica out as fast as he could without moving her too much.
We ran inside with Scott in the lead and me hot on his heels, ignoring the throbbing of my ankles from running in heels.
The minute we got inside a beautiful nurse with dark curly hair and equally dark eyes ran up to us and started to ask what was going on. Everything became a blur as Scott explained what happened and Erica was taken to a room on a stretcher with a bunch of nurses surrounding and working on her.
Turns out the nurse is Scott's mom.
I sat down on the uncomfortable hospital chair, impatiently waiting for some type of news on Erica.
Scott's mom walked slowly towards me as if approaching a cornered rabid animal.
"Are you a relative?" She questioned lowly
"No, just a friend."
"Well you're a really good friend. A couple minutes later and she may have died."
I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. For a girl who has seen more than enough death, I just couldn't handle seeing someone die from natural causes. I honestly would rather watch somebody get their heart ripped out of their chest or their heard ripped off, than watch somebody have a seizure. Seeing somebody die a bloody death is just my new-sorta old- normal.
"She's asking for you." She said after a few minutes of silence
"What room is she in?" Quickly I grabbed my purse and stood up, wiping imaginary lint from my dress.
After Scott's mom-whose name I learned is Melissa- told me the room number and how to get there, she got up and went behind the wrap-around reception counter and began to type on the computer in front of her.
I didn't waste any time and took long, hurried strides in the direction Ms. McCall pointed me in before finally locating the door.
When I reached the door, I could hear talking inside. Which confused me because from what I gathered Erica's father hadn't arrived yet and Scott was outside talking to Stiles on the phone, explaining why he had disappeared.
"Think about it Erica." a low, raspy voice was saying "No more pills that give you anxiety, makes you fat or give you acne. The best part? No more epilepsy." He continued in a pleasant, persuasive voice.
Curious and to nosy for my own good, I looked into the squared window of the room to see Erica sitting at the edge of the hospital bed in a typical hospital gown. The man standing between her legs had dark hair and his broad jaw line was covered in his 5 o'clock shadow. From where he was standing I couldn't fully see his face, but what I did see pointed to the fact that he is broodingly handsome.
Something else held my attention entirely though.
When he flicked his eyes towards the window, all I saw was red before I dived away from the window.
His eyes are red. A blood red, that sent chills down my unexpected spine.
Werewolf. An Alpha werewolf at that.
SHIT!
Before I could barge in and stopping Erica from making the biggest mistake of her life, she drew in a shaky breath and nodded her consent.
He didn't waste a second. I froze. Hair grew on the sides of his face and his teeth elongated. He tucked his hand in her sweaty, matted blond hair and before I knew it, he tilted her head to the side and bit down on the part of her neck that connected her neck and shoulder with a sickening crunch. The short screamed that left Erica's mouth unfroze me and I couldn't help but think that he probably didn't tell her that she only had a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the bite. A hot flash of anger coursed through me.
When she screamed again as he bit deeper, I choked on a gasp and made sure none escaped by covering my mouth with both hands. With my heart trying to escape my chest and jump out of my throat, I spun on my heel and did the only thing I could think to do right now.
Run.