Caroline
"Are you ever going to tell us who the painting's from?" Elodie asked as Caroline walked in the room the next morning. "It's from an acquaintance. It's a congrats on Harvard gift. I hadn't expected to hear from him again." "Fine, I won't ask anymore about it." Caroline sighed in relief. No more Klaus, that was her new mantra. "So, are you going to go out with Jasper?" Marissa asked. "Yeah, he seems nice, so why not give it a try. Besides, it's been quite a while." Elodie shuffled to the edge of her chair. "Do tell." "You are way too curious, you know that? What about you?" Elodie slumped back. "As much as I would like to take part in this conversation, I have class. Besides it's not like I have much experience in that department. You two have fun and I'll see you later." Marissa got up and left for her class.
"So, Elodie, do tell." Caroline said with a small smile. "Well, I had a couple of boyfriends. After I became a vampire it just became weird to date, you know. First it was about learning how to control my thirst and not accidentally bite them. And then I had to be careful when making out or having sex. I couldn't move too fast or too eagerly. There were times that I had to compel them. After a while, it just became too much of an investment. No more relationships for me, I go for sex. Besides, what's the point in trying to connect with someone, building a relationship, when in the end you're just going to put an end to it. I don't care much about investing too much of my time in something that I know won't work." "Well, that's one way to look at it." Elodie looked at Caroline in disbelief. "How do you look at it?" "I give it a try. Sure, my relationships with humans won't be forever, but there are also other immortals out there. I've only dated one human while being a vampire, but it turned sour when he found out that I was a vampire." "You told him that? That's a way to ruin a relationship." Caroline was debating whether to tell Elodie about the supernatural nature of her hometown. "I didn't tell him, he found out. And besides, it was for the best. We're still friends, though. I dated a werewolf after that and another vampire. Neither one of those relationships worked out. I've been single for a couple of months now." "You dated a werewolf? And another vampire? How many supernaturals do you know?" Elodie asked. "A couple. My hometown was kind of a breeding ground for that sort of thing." "I have a feeling there's more to that than you're willing to tell right now, but I won't push. You'll tell me when you know me better. Or not."
"Thank you. How long have you been a vampire, if you don't mind me asking." Elodie looked at Caroline and seemed to think it over for a moment. "Almost a year now. I was turned when I was eighteen. You?" "Almost three years. I'm seventeen forever." Caroline said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Being young and beautiful forever. I guess there are a lot of people who'd envy us for that." "It's not all sunshine and roses." Caroline liked being a vampire and she didn't want to be human again, but there are still some things she would never get. "I'm guessing you weren't turned voluntarily?" Elodie asked. "Nope, but I've accepted it. And in all honesty, I like who I am now."
"Well, being a vampire does have its perks. My brother turned me, you know. He gave me the choice on my eighteenth birthday. After considering his offer, I took it. I always wanted more from my life and this is what I got. I'm pretty satisfied with the way it turned out to be." Caroline hadn't seen that coming. "Wow, that must've been the toughest decision you had to make." "Would you take it?" Again, Elodie side tracked Caroline by asking that question. Would she? "I honestly don't know. Luckily I'll never have to make that call. I didn't choose to become a vampire, but I'd like to think I've grown into it. What about your brother? And your parents?" "My parents died when I was younger. My brother was all I had. When he became a vampire, he tried to control everything. I still don't know who turned him. He somehow managed to get a grip on himself and he tried to hold on to the person he was, for me. Marissa knew a witch who could help her with the daylight ring and voila, there we have it. The transition wasn't the most fun part, but my brother stood by me the entire time. I learnt to control my cravings and I've never killed anyone. What was it like for you?"
"Disorienting. I'd been in a car accident and was out cold, my life had been balancing on a thread. One of my best friends, Elena, asked a vampire to give me some blood so I could heal. The blood was still in my system when some vampire bitch decided to use me as a pawn in one of her games. She suffocated me with a pillow and I died, with vampire blood still in my system. I hadn't really understood what had happened. I hadn't been aware of the existence of vampires and other supernatural beings. I'd woken up, disoriented and hungry. I drank blood and finished my transition into a vampire. Stefan was the one who helped me through. Stefan had asked a witch to make me a daylight ring. And here I am." Caroline hadn't intended to tell the whole story. And she was also surprised that she didn't bore any hatred towards Katherine anymore. It was strange, but after everything, Caroline had somehow forgiven the girl. "That's quite the story. This Elena, is she still human?" "No, she's a vampire." Elodie nodded. "Let me get this straight. You have a friend who's a witch, your two best friends are vampires and you've dated a werewolf and another vampire? Did I leave anyone out?" "There's Stefan's older brother, Damon, who's also a vampire. And then there are some that have passed through town. But that's basically it." She left the hybrid and Originals story out. Caroline believed that she could trust Elodie and Marissa, but she just didn't want to get into it. Besides, talking about the Originals meant mentioning Klaus and that went against her new mantra.
Caroline managed to get a normal life for about a semester, which all in all, wasn't a bad achievement. Unfortunately, things couldn't remain supernatural free forever. Caroline's first semester at Harvard had been wonderful. She'd been dating Jasper for a while now and she was genuinely happy. Jasper was nice and sweet, and most importantly normal. She'd aced her tests and after spending winter break in Mystic Falls, where much to her surprise, everything was normal too. Who would've thought? But since most of the supernatural community had set up home someplace else, it wasn't that big of an oddity. Caroline headed back to Harvard, ready for another normal semester.
The semester had barely begun when Caroline's new normal world started crumbling down.
Author's note
I know it's a short chapter, but it's a transition chapter to the rest of the story. And you can get excited because in the next chapter, some other characters from TVD will appear. I should also give fair warning, there won't be much Klaus in the coming parts. My apologies for all you Klaroliners, but I have my reasons. I take the whole 'He's your first love, I intend to be your last' line very serious. And Klaus had a point there. He's like a 1000 years old. Caroline's life has only just begun, in my opinion, she needs time to figure out what she really wants. And in order to do that, she needs to do a lot of things before committing herself to an eternity with Klaus. So I hope you understand and you're willing to see it through. And for those of you doubting whether this means that only by the end of the story there will be actual Klaus and Caroline interaction, fear not, Klaus will make several appearances before Caroline's graduation from Harvard.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.