Vampirism isn't always about self-control for Caroline. It's about making people believe you have it. When you feel hungry, you need to glance at, not ogle, the jugulars of the people next to you. Never stare, unless they're not paying any particular attention.
It can get distracting when you're ravenous and the pattering of heartbeats begin to sound like a violent roar in your ears, but the trick is to breathe and count backwards from ten. Or if that doesn't work, then take a hike. Stefan used to get her out of the house to take her mind off the bloodlust.
Bloodlust, she huffs in disbelief. The struggle is nearly as terrible as her torrential relationship with carbs. Worse that she needs the blood to accelerate healing.
The walks are effective, though. This time she's taking a short stroll some streets down from Bonnie's home, where she's crashing in the meantime. Having gone through a shameful bout of stress eating - drinking?- when she guzzled six blood bags like a frat boy chugging beer at a kegger, the only way she can cool down is to stay away.
In the wee hours of the morning, the streets are cold and empty. The air vibrates with the chirp of crickets, and what's supposed to give Caroline tranquility has instead caused her to look over her shoulder more than once.
Thanks to Mike's ambush, her mind has set itself to high alert, paying attention to every detail possible that could hint at it happening again; the scrape of dry leaves blown by the breeze along the sidewalk; hearing an irregular beat of feet that doesn't quite match her own footsteps; a crawl up her back that feels like fingers but is only the wind tickling her-
She yelps when she collides with someone. Her first instinct is to reach for the person's arm, but she finds her wrists being seized before she can even twitch a muscle.
Caroline shouts her discontent at being bested and looks up to see Kol Mikaelson, who is absolutely bemused that she tried to accost him.
"Hey, pretty," he grins, not keeping his once over of her discreet at all. "What's a girl like you doing all alone here at this hour?"
She tries to wrestle away from him, but he's sickeningly strong. When she finally realises the futility of trying to escape, she narrows her eyes at him. "Have you been following me?"
Kol recoils, incredulous. "You flatter yourself," he says, loosening his grip. "I have my own business here."
Wrenching herself away, she nurses the newly formed welts at the heels of her palm. "The business of being a mental patient on the loose," she retorts, annoyance simmering. Bad enough that she can't physically overpower him. She's not going to spare him from the blade of her words.
Naturally, he does not appreciate the opinion. "It's none of your business," he corrects, at first delivered with a simple sneer, but then it dissolves into something more curious as his hand rises to cup the side of Caroline's cheek. It startles her, but she's so frozen in half-fear half-caution that the only thing that she can manage is a, "Do I have something on my face?"
Kol studies her weary eyes. Please don't compel me, please don't compel me, she screams through them. The last thing she wants is to have her freedom stripped from her again; this guy seems way more unrestrained with his Original abilities than the rest of his family.
"Why are you drinking so much blood?" he questions, thumb pulling down just under her eye to note the colour. She finds his sudden tender manner most unsettling, and the longer she remains in his grasp, the better she's able to discern what makes him undeniably attractive - deep set eyes framed by laugh lines, a strong, masculine jawline, and that unabashedly cheeky smile.
That's not good. With all of her willpower Caroline folds her arms and steps backward, reeling in the feelings while putting distance between the both of them. Just as she does with the blood.
Stop being shallow, Care. This guy is as dangerous as he is batshit crazy. Chiseled features aren't going to change that.
"Why do you care?" she asks.
"You're hungry. Your body's on a borderline frenzy." Then comes a wide grin. "Vampires are up for anything when they're..." His words trail away and his finger points to head, circling a point on his temple.
Crazy, he's saying.
She is not crazy. It's not like she's gone on a bender and sunk her teeth into anyone. She's appalled that he'd even suggest that she has so little control over herself.
"It's all in your eyes," says Kol, "All those tiny capillaries making ridges inside – you'd better stop, or you'll go on a rampage. Wouldn't want to mess up my plans now, do we?"
Mystery plans which she doesn't care about. "Well, I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't being hunted, I wouldn't need a supersized blood bag to keep my limbs attached."
"And who would want to hurt a little bird like you?"
Trouble is the last thing she wants, and talking about it is somehow more upsetting than being alone and shutting it out. "Nobody. I'm fine."
He's unconvinced. "There are ways for me to find out, you know. Besides," he smirks, "I like freeing little birds from their predicaments."
She pauses. "What are you expecting out of it? Your hand up my skirt? My heart?" It's meant to be acerbic, but when she actually hears it and envisions it, she starts to wish that she didn't open her mouth at all. It's the blood talking.
Kol chuckles. "You wouldn't want to give me those things. I wouldn't let go of a woman like you." Just the glint in his eye is enough to force a skip of life in her heart. "I'm as terrible as they come."
The worst thing about what he's saying is how paradoxical it is, warning her of the danger while oozing the magnetic charm she's supposed to stay away from. There's a small part of her that wonders what it would be like to be close to him. Her fingers itch with curiosity as her gaze sweeps downward from his hair line to his lips, neck to coat. Before she knows it, she's taken a quick glance of his crotch and mentally slaps herself for lingering.
You are not going to go there.
"It's my cousin. But don't hurt him, Kol." She tries to steer the topic somewhere else to ignore how self-conscious she feels about checking him out.
"He won't die. I'll just have a little fun." He leans closer. "Then we can have our own sort of fun."
"You're insane and sleazy." And despite knowing this, Caroline speculates every kind of fun there is to be had with a guy like him. Oh god, she closes her eyes and the mild shame rises from her chest, you're just as sleazy as he is.
"I meant with owing me a favour." A non-sexual one, he insinuates with his tone. He stops for a beat, beaming at her apparent gutter-brained notions. "Actually, I may have something for you to do. You can thank me after I've settled your problem."
She never asked for any help, but Kol doesn't seem to be the kind of guy who takes no for an answer.