He didn't realize how much Caroline became part of his day until he saw her on the 28th of December.
The moment his eyes lock with her sky eyes, a smile spreads across her face and the weight of the loneliness he has become accustom to throughout his life lifts partially; this is the lightest he's felt in a long time; too long his heart heaves.
He feels this discomfort as he begins to realize Caroline means more to him than he would like to admit, even to himself. If she has this power of his mood, it means she has wormed her way into his dark heart, making him feel things he would rather not. Any attachment to mortality, no matter how small, will be his ultimate undoing.
Caroline settles on the stool, toying with the hem of her sleeve, "Dr. Whitmore says I have to go to the New Years Eve party. Do you know what it is?"
He groans, "Is it already that time of the year?"
Caroline tilts her head, confused by his statement. He smirks, "Every year the school hosts a party, raving about all the new discoveries find. Everyone who knows about vampires will be attending. Meaning I can come out, where I'll be standing in a vervian laced cage the whole night. I regret to inform you that the days leading up to this party will be very boring, I just lay in my cell without blood." Her blue eyes are wide with concern, so he changes the subject, "I'm assuming your founding families will be going, since they fund the program."
Caroline nods, "Yes, James is attending, he's eager to see what I'm learning about."
He leans back and lets Caroline prattle on about her concerns with living up to her parents expectations, her husbands needs, and ultimately her future as Mrs. Lockwood. He wishes this didn't mean anything to him.
The days leading up to the New Year's eve party, were boring to say the least. Augustine perfected the amount of time to leave him starving, until he has the strength of a boy, but not yet desiccated. He fills his time with painting stories about Italy as he remembers, and then England through the eyes of a boy. He loves telling her about his time as a vampire, how he traveled and experience America.
Caroline is enthralled, always asking questions and then fantasizing about what it would be like to live there. He doesn't burst her bubble with his tales of hardship and starvation of a different kind.
He finds out that she hasn't left a 100 mile radius of where she was born, and realizes she intends on keeping it that way; he wonders why she thinks like that.
He then spends the 31rst of December telling her stories of his time in New York as a Vampire, about all the secrets the city holds, and the history written along the walls. She is sitting on the edge of her seat by the end of his story, her eyes are brimming with curiosity, and questions are poised on her pink lips.
Dr. Whitmore walks in at that moment, and takes in Caroline's body language, "What's so interesting?"
By then he is laying in his cage, as if nothing has changed from his starvation.
Caroline surprises him, she's quick with her response, "I just find it fascinating that he hasn't desiccated in the slightest, despite the lack of blood in the past few days, and the insufficient portions of blood he has had throughout the years."
"Yes, that took years to find the amount of time to keep the specimen between desiccation and the strength of a child," Whitmore begins to tells Caroline the process of testing this out, which she documents.
While he just sits in his cage and tunes it out, he already lived through some of these long drawn out experiments, he doesn't need to hear about them.
"If you have any more questions please let me know, otherwise I'll see you at the party in a few hours." Whitmore says, seemingly happy that he had a captive, quite literally in one case, audience to listen about his work.
Once he's gone, Caroline says, "I must be going, I have a party to get ready for."
He lets her go without a comment.
Tomorrow, January first, he will have his first sip of blood since Christmas Eve, and as much as it brings him shame, he's ecstatic to feel the blood flow down his throat. He spends the next few hours contemplating his existence in the way only a starving man can.
Paul and Billy pull him out of his stupor, they restrain him with little effort, he doesn't have it in him to fight, and drag him up countless flights of stairs to a room with a cage in it. The strong stench of vervain burns with every breath he takes the moment the door opens, coming from the 3ftx3ftx8ft cage he will spend the next 8 hours in that cage, standing with inches to spare between him and the drenched bars.
Paul and Billy take all of his restraints off, leaving a weak man in their wake. The room is soon emptied, the only thing keeping him company is the smell of that catered food and the clouds that block out the stars and moon.
Guests will be arriving soon, he can hear people mulling about around him, anticipation for the night builds in the building, and soon he is annoyed with it, ready for the guest to arrive so he can leave and start the year with new ways to feel pain.
The guests arrive in one large group, he finds amusement in their varied reactions. Few are open about their fear, most hide behind mock confidence, yet all give him a wide berth. Caroline, to his immense surprise, shows up late. What doesn't surprise him though, is the way her mere presence immediately becomes the center of attention. She's obvious to it all, her eyes are too busy searching for something, they land on him briefly with a soft smile before continuing their search.
Her bright blue eyes land on Whitmore, and she leans up to the man on her arm and whispers something in his ear. He's surprised by the man's presence, not noticing him until Caroline's attention changes. The man is tall, with neat black hair, bright brown eyes, and a naturally tan complexion. He is very stoic, despite his youth; Caroline never described her fiancé, but he knows it's him.
The couple makes their way to Whitmore, and some other colleagues, all the while he takes in Caroline. Around her fiancé Caroline's light is dim, something he thought had to do with her tardiness and embarrassment, but now realizes it's her future husbands fault.
The man sticks his hand out and shakes Whitmore's, "James Lockwood."
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Lockwood, I'm Trevor Whitmore." Whitmore says before letting go.
The men exchange a few more pleasantries before joining the previous conversation. All the while, Caroline holds her drink with James' arm around her waist, making small comments when appropriate. This Caroline, the one around James, is the perfect wife; she's submissive, polite, quiet, and smart.
The Caroline he has come to know is confident, stubborn, passionate, sassy, and brilliant. It pains him to know that this will be her future if she is to marry James.
The night goes on, as it draws closer to midnight, Whitmore brings him out and parades him around. People are impressed by Whitmore's bravery, but they don't know that the vampire before them is starving and full of vervain, so much so, that he's surprised he hasn't lost consciousness yet.
The party ends an hour after midnight; Paul and Billy wait until the last guest leaves before returning him to his cell.
He lays there, dreading what 1952 holds.
A/N I can't really remember how the New Year's Eve party went, so I kind of made most of this up.
Thank you all for reading this story this year, it really means the world to me.
I hope you all have a wonderful 2017, I'll see you in the New Year.
Loveklaroline: Thank you so much for a wonderful year, your reviews have become some of my favorite things to read. I always look forward to reading them when I post a new chapter. Thank you for your continued support for all of my stories, and encouraging me. I hope the wait for this one wasn't to long, the next one should be up sooner (I hope :D). The vampire's identity will be revealed soon, I'm not telling you when :) the anticipation is awesome! I hope the reveal isn't to disappointing though. I know I didn't fulfill your request in the way you wanted, I'd be more than happy to write another one if you want, you can even pick her love interest ;). Thank you for the wishes! Next year will be good, hopefully! I hope your holidays were spectacular, and this new year is the best one yet. Until next time!