The Aftermath
by poopaw
(Disclaimer: I do not own TVD.)
A sweet boy tries to flirt with her at the bar tonight.
Caroline ends up draining him dry by the end of the night.
His name is Kyle. He's a farm boy from a small town in Kentucky. He has chestnut curls and the bluest eyes. He's the first person in his family to go to college. Everyone looks up to him and if he's honest, the pedestal that is holding him up is starting to suffocate him. And to add insult to injury, his high school girlfriend just broke up with him. He normally doesn't go out to bars but tonight, he just needs a break – one little occasion to let loose and forget everything.
Caroline finds all of that out a minute after a quick introduction at the bar.
(She listens and tolerates the entire exchange because the story is eerily familiar.)
To Caroline, it seems as if Kyle has a heart rate of a thousand beats per second. Each and every thud calls out to her like a sweet melody. The temptation is hissing at her violently. She hasn't drunk from the vein for so long now.
(From a human's vein because she knows when the last time she's actually drank from the vein.)
The urge to release all of her frustration on this innocent boy is alluring. The tension between her and Tyler is still tethering on the edge. She knows that a few more pushes and a battle will erupt. And she's not sure if the coming battle's ammunition will merely be biting words again or actual bites.
(Her frustration stems not only from Tyler but she's not too keen on admitting that any time soon.)
Kyle leans in a little too close and her lips brush teasingly against his neck's pulse. He sucks in a little hot breath and his grip on her hip tightens a little. He gets excited and his heartbeat flutters rapidly.
She quickly excuses herself to the bathroom before the veins appear.
"Leave a message after the beep."
No hello, no introduction, just a demand. The message was so completely and utterly him that her annoyance at him starts to grow stronger than her bloodlust.
"How long will you keep this up, Klaus? I don't know what you're doing but when somebody calls you a million times, you're supposed to fucking answer!" she all but screeches inside the cramped up cubicle. She needs to channel everything into this one phone call (where she's miraculously connected to the phone instead of being completely blocked off the line like before).
She needs this because an innocent cannot die because of her hands tonight.
"You cannot be this dedicated to your promise because you and I both know what you said in the woods that day was all just a ploy to get me to finally give in! Well, congratulations, you damn well got me to give in!" her voice is raw with emotion. Has she had one too many drinks? "I – we needed your help months ago and you were just willing to throw me under the bus! How could you?"
(She corrects herself the first time but she changes her mind soon enough because who was she kidding anyway?)
"You cannot just come to town, mess my incredibly organized life, and expect me not to hunt you down like a rabid dog! The only reason you don't see me marching there like some lunatic is because arriving in the middle of a war is a death wish." The veins that disappeared a while ago are coming back at full force. What was supposed to be a distraction has become a summoning of all of her anger. "You can't just sleep with someone, tell them you are their last love, promise to show them the world, and then live as if you've never cared for them!"
The fangs are starting to protrude and she bangs her hand on the tiled walls angrily. The tiles crack and one piece falls on the ground with a sharp sound.
"Not to mention the fact that you have a child on the way! You left your baby mama in New Orleans to sleep with me in Mystic Falls for an afternoon. How twisted is that? If you think you don't have to explain yourself, well, you're wrong, mister! How dare you do that? How dare you make me the home wrecker in this little twisted and sadistic family of yours?"
(Never mind the fact that she technically hasn't wrecked any home yet because obviously, he hasn't come running back to Mystic Falls.)
"Well –"
Beep.
Did she just get cut off?
The door of the cubicle flies off the hinges in a matter of seconds.
"Hey," she purrs. The thirst is clawing at her throat. Her blood is pulsing with anger and frustration. "Would you like to get out of here?"
Kyle never sees the light of day after that.
"Leave a message after the beep."
She sniffles against her will as she tries to keep the tears at bay. She throws the shovel on the ground and wipes her dirt-ridden hands on her jeans. Her tongue swipes her bottom lip swiftly. The taste of fresh copper is condemning.
"Fuck you, Klaus," she whispers. "Please –"
Caroline ends the call before she says anything further.