Hey, guys! I'm back! And I know that I probably owe you a huge apology after making you wait like two months for another update when I said I'd try to get the updates sooner to you! I'm really sorry about that! I really wanted to update sooner but apparently my teachers didn't agree.

Also, in a previous chapter a lot of you guys expressed concern when I said that this story would get "darker." When I say "darker," I do NOT mean non-con. I know that's probably the first thought that pops into people's head when they hear the word "dark." But I don't think that this story is super angsty because that's just not my style. Everything that will be in this story will be consensual and if it wasn't I would've mentioned it in the summary or in my author's note for the very first chapter or something.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoy :)

Caroline and Elena strolled into history class, choosing two empty seats in the front and setting their bags on the ground beside their desks. "I'm so glad that I know at least one person in my first class," Caroline admitted.

"Hey. You're not the only one," Elena agreed. "It's always a good thing to have backup, just in case a shark tries to bite your arm off."

Caroline smiled as she lifted her eyes up to the front of the room, causing her smile to falter. "Uh-oh. Shark alert." Elena lifted her brows in alarm, whipping her body around in time to see every single member of the Mikaelson family walk inside the classroom in a herd. Her heart sank, realizing that she would be forced to spend first period for the rest of the year with each of those demons. Caroline followed the group of people with her eyes as they walked past her desk; her body stiffened when her eyes locked with Klaus's. She knew she should've turned away the second she looked into those beautiful blue eyes, but he'd already caught her staring at them. When he was finally out of her sight, she bowed her head in shame, praying that Elena hadn't caught that.

"What the hell are you doing?" Elena scolded.

Caroline kept her eyes trained on the wooden surface of her desk. "It was an accident."

"What do you mean it was accident? Did your eyes accidentally get glued to Klaus Mikaelson's face?"

Caroline's head snapped up, meeting Elena's irritated gaze. "I'm sorry, okay? It won't happen again. I just... have to get used to the fact that I have to be afraid of looking people in the eye. I'm not like you. I don't cower at the sound of a book being dropped and assume it's a gun shot." Elena furrowed her brows as her jaw dropped, giving Caroline a look that said 'how could you?' Caroline felt a pang in her heart, seeing Elena's expression. She automatically felt guilty and didn't know why she'd said those hurtful words in the first place. "Elena, I'm sorry. You're right. You were only trying to help me and all I'm doing is being a bitch to you."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from Caroline and facing forward in her seat. "No, Caroline. You're right. I'm a coward. Why should you listen to me? I mean, what do I know? I've only been going to this school for what? Three, four years now? And you've been here for...? Less than a day? Less than a period? Less than five minutes? Now you think you can just waltz in here and start telling me that Klaus Mikaelson is a nice guy? Why? Because you like his smile?"

"Elena!" Caroline leaned farther towards Elena. "I never said those things. I didn't mean what I said. I just freaked out because I kept screwing up... I'm scared, Elena. I don't know how you do this. I'm not strong like you."

Elena uncrossed her arms and took Caroline's hands into her own. "Caroline, you are strong. I know you are. And you wanna know how I know?"

"How?"

"Because you're still here. A weaker person would have tried to jump over the wall as soon as they found out what this place was, or worse..." Elena informed her. Caroline gulped, wondering if anyone ever had done the worse alternative. She didn't even want to think about the chances of this place being haunted. "I'm not strong, Caroline, really. I just know how to put on a brave face long enough to make it through the day and end up bursting into tears right when I get back to my room." Elena flashed her a sad smile.

"I think that is the most depressing thing I've ever heard." Rebekah pressed both her hands on top of Elena's desk, leaning down on it. Caroline and Elena flinched when they heard the familiar accented voice. "Honestly, Elena, don't put yourself down like that. It takes the fun away from me putting you down myself."

Elena glowered at the blonde. "Oh, joy. You're in this class. Now I get to hear you talk about which shade of pink makes your lips look more kissable for the next year."

Rebekah flashed her a tight-lipped smile before abruptly grabbing Elena by the collar of her shirt, slightly picking her up out of her seat and pulling her forward. Elena gasped, her heart racing from the fear of what Rebekah would do to her. Rebekah held her a few inches from her face, the proximity alone was enough to make Elena sweat. "Listen very closely, you self-righteous brat. I will do whatever I want, whenever I want, for however long I want. So if I want to talk about the color of my lipstick, I will talk about the color of my lipstick... you know what else I'll do, though?" Elena kept her lips sealed shut. "Go on, Elena. Ask! Ask me what else I'll do for the next year." Elena continued to be silent. Rebekah's fake smile grew dangerously wide and blinked her blue eyes before they dilated, looking directly into Elena's brown ones. "I said ask."

"What else are you going to do for the next year?" Elena asked involuntarily.

"I'm so glad you asked," Rebekah smirked. Elena rapidly blinked her eyes, still confused as to why she just asked Rebekah that question. "I'm going to kiss Stefan in this class. Every. Single. Day. For the next year." Elena gritted her teeth, feeling her cheeks begin to burn bright red from anger. "He's going to kiss me on this desk." Rebekah pointed to the top surface of Elena's desk. "He's going to kiss me up against the wall, on the teacher's desk, in the doorway, in front of the entire class, and any other place we can think of."

"Stop!" Caroline shot out of her seat, immediately regretting her decision when she saw Rebekah drop Elena back into her seat and shoot her a menacing dirty look. Caroline did her best to keep her head up high, hoping that Rebekah would believe that her knees weren't about to give out. "Elena didn't do anything. Maybe you should just... leave her alone."

Rebekah looked back and forth between Caroline and Elena before resting her gaze on Elena once more. "Well, bravo, Elena." Rebekah pretended to clap. "I see you've finally managed to make yourself a friend. It took you long enough. It's been, what? Four years? Four years to make yourself a friend? Correction, that has got to be the most depressing thing I've ever heard. Let's just hope you don't drag your new friend down with you." Rebekah flicked her eyes over to Caroline before walking to the front of the classroom.

Caroline turned back to Elena. "Why does she hate you so much?"

"It's Rebekah. Does she really need a reason?"

"Now that's what I call talent." Kol leaned back in his seat, eying the blonde that sat beside Elena.

"This ones mine." Klaus threw back some of the liquor from the canteen into his throat. He remembered the girl from breakfast and was completely stunned to find out that she was in his first period and he didn't even have to compel anybody to switch her schedule around. There had been something about the look in her that captivated his attention- which never happened.

"Why do you get to claim her as your own?" the younger Mikaelson questioned.

"Because one: I'm older. Two: don't you have enough women on your plate? The last time I heard your name come out of a woman's mouth- other than our dear sister- that woman wanted your head delivered to her on a stake. Now what was that about?"

"That was me not caring about a human girl's emotions. I don't understand why women of this century are all the same: overdramatic and overly insecure. That's why we killed that one last night, remember?"

"Shhh!" Klaus held up a finger to silence him.

"Don't 'shhh' me-"

"Would you please be quiet? I'm concentrating!"

"On what?"

"Why don't you stop talking and use your bloody ears?"

Klaus and Kol sighed, focusing on a pair of feminine voices that were whispering to each other.

"What the hell are you doing?" one voice asked.

"It was an accident," another voice shyly admitted.

"What do you mean it was accident? Did your eyes accidentally get glued to Klaus Mikaelson's face?"

Klaus and Kol lifted their eyes, cocky grins displayed on their faces. Klaus nodded his head in approval. "Well, that settles it. She already likes me so I win."

"Fine. You can have her but just so you know, just because she stares at you doesn't mean she finds you attractive," Kol teased.

"Believe me, brother. She is very interested in what I have to offer."

"Don't get too excited. She's friends with Elena Gilbert. There has to be something seriously wrong with her. I wouldn't want you getting hurt," Kol laughed.

"The only one getting hurt this year is the entire female population at this establishment. Rebekah plans to go out with a bang- which means she's going to burn this school to the ground- assuming there will still be something left that can be burnt." Klaus took another swig from the canteen before passing it to Kol.

Kol finished the rest of the contents of the canteen before responding. "Ah! There's nothing like the sound of screaming humans being burnt alive in the morning-"

"Don't forget about the smell of roasting flesh."

"That too! I can't wait to see the look on those poor humans' faces once they realize that their classmates are slowly being plucked off one by one. They'll never even notice until it's too late and they'll all start throwing themselves on the walls. Now that's what I call a senior year you'll never forget."

"Oh, Mr. Collins," Rebekah said in a sing-song voice, calling over the teacher that just walked into the classroom.

"Yes, Rebekah?" Mr. Collins asked, stopping right in front of the blonde.

"We have a new student. I think it's important that we make her feel welcome." Rebekah gestured to the blonde sitting in a front row seat.

"Thank you, Rebekah," Mr. Collins smiled. "That's... uncharacteristically nice of you." Rebekah scowled at him, striking fear into his very core. "I mean, that's just such a surprise. I'm... I'm happy that you're taking an interest in the new students." Rebekah threw him a cold look before sliding into her seat up front beside Caroline. The teacher beamed at Caroline, trying to shake off the chills Rebekah had caused. "Welcome! I'm Mr. Collins. Welcome to Castlewall Academy. Please, tell the class your name. Introduce yourself, love." He gestured to the unfamiliar blonde girl.

Caroline felt butterflies in her stomach, not feeling comfortable knowing that she was at the center of attention in a room filled with almost criminals. She feigned a smile, trying to fake her confidence by straightening her back. "Hi, everyone. My name is Caroline Forbes. I just moved here last night."

"Where are you from, Caroline?"

"Virgina."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Oh, this small town. You probably don't know it."

"That's interesting." He looked up at the rest of the class. "Class, say hello to Caroline Forbes."

"Hello, Caroline Forbes," the class answered unenthusiastically.

Caroline awkwardly waved back, not that anyone cared.

"Alright, class." Mr. Collins clapped his hands together. "Since it's the first day of school, there will be no homework and you're allowed to talk freely for the rest of the period." There was a loud outburst of screams of relief as hundreds of white pieces of paper sprang into the air. Caroline saw the teacher sink back into his chair as he put his headphones in, turning up his mp3 player. Well, that was disturbing. She would definitely remember to not go to him in case she ever got jumped at her locker.

Rebekah yanked Klaus and Kol by the back of their collared shirts, dragging them all the way to the back of the room and pushing their backs into the wall.

"What the bloody hell, Bekah?" Kol complained.

"You wrinkled my shirt!" Klaus turned his head around, trying to examine the wrinkles she created on his back.

"Oh, would the two of you stop acting like fools?!" She pulled on Klaus's wrist, forcing him to look at her. "Now would you just bloody listen to me?"

"I would if you wouldn't try to manhandle us!" Klaus growled. "You didn't even say anything! Just hauled us off by our collars like some barbarian!"

Rebekah's jaw dropped, her anger threatening to surge up her throat. Kol and Klaus snickered at the enraged look on their sister's face. "Nik's right," Kol agreed. "The next time you put your hands on us, we'll have to treat you like a man when we retaliate." He put his arm around Klaus, showing his sister the alliance they'd formed against her.

"Oh, please!" she scoffed at them. "I could take the two of you down easily with a blindfold on. You don't scare me."

"Care to test that theory out?" Kol goaded her. "Me, you, Nik, and a blindfold. Outside. Right now!"

"What are you three imbeciles doing?" Elijah came up behind them, joining the circle they made.

"Oh, Elijah! Good. You're here." Kol beamed. "You can be on Nik's and my side, while we take down Rebekah while she's blindfolded. That means three verses a blind Rebekah. I like these odds."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes at him. "Why? Because you know it's the only way you can beat me in a fight? Blindfolded while you use our brothers to your advantage. You're sad, Kol. You really are."

"Rebekah, I wasn't going to say anything because I'm a gentleman, but-"

"Enough of your squabbling!" Elijah interrupted. "If you insist on bickering with one another I suggest you take a walk so that I don't have to hear it."

"Rebekah was the one who started it when she towed us all the way over to the back of the room for no reason," Klaus explained.

"It was not without a reason. It was for a good reason," Rebekah assured him.

Kol sighed. "What, Bekah?"

Rebekah flicked her eyes over to Caroline and Elena. "Did you see the new blonde girl?"

The three Original brothers turned their heads in the direction Rebekah was looking in. "Yes, I remember her," Elijah answered.

"I saw her." Kol nodded. "I know Nik saw her," he grinned as he nudged Klaus in the ribs, making his brother's grin grow even wider. Klaus pushed Kol away, trying to hide his knowing smile.

"What's he talking about?" Rebekah interrogated Klaus.

Klaus and Kol cleared their throats, their faces going stoic once more. "Nothing."

"Forget these twits, Rebekah," Elijah ordered. "What about the girl?"

"I don't like her."

"Why?" Klaus questioned. "Are you jealous because she's prettier than you?" Rebekah clasped her hand around his neck, pushing his head into the wall and elongating her fangs. Klaus looked completely unaffected. "Kidding." He feigned a smile.

Rebekah groaned at him, relinquishing him from her hold and backing away. "You're such an ass, Nik!"

"Watch yourself, little sister. I may be your brother but I'm still stronger than you."

"Oh, come on, Nik. You know you love me too much to ever get into an all out drag out fight with me."

"Hey!" Kol reproached. "What about me?"

"What about you?" Rebekah grimaced.

"Both of you have gotten into a fight with me before where we fought until the break of dawn! What are you saying? You don't love me enough?"

"Kol, both your parents didn't love you enough. Why would you possibly expect more from us?" Rebekah retorted.

Kol turned his head sharply to look at Klaus. "Nik!"

"Relax, Kol. Rebekah thinks she's special because she's the 'baby' of the family. She has this ridiculous notion in her head that we're not allowed to hit her."

Rebekah placed her hands on her hips, scowling at her brothers. "You're a bitter, vindictive little bastard, aren't you?"

Klaus sneered at his sister. "What can I say? My parents didn't love me enough either. What can you expect? I suppose that all puts us in the same boat. We're all bitter, vindictive little bastards in our own way."

"I just want to be clear: I hate you all." Rebekah looked each of her brothers in the eye.

"What did I do?" Elijah asked defensively.

"Oh, please. You're never on my side, Elijah! You always take their side." She gestured to Klaus and Kol.

"That is not true. I've stood by your side copious amounts of times, Rebekah."

"Not when I'm up against Kol and Nik-"

"What's going on?" Katherine squeezed herself past Klaus and Kol to make room for her in the circle.

"Your boyfriend and my brothers are acting like barbarians." Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest.

"Says the girl who continuously tries to start a melee with everyone here," Klaus countered.

"Don't tempt me, Nik," Rebekah bit out.

Katherine walked over to Rebekah, circling an arm around the blonde's shoulder. "Guys, didn't your mother ever teach you to be nice to girls?"

"Our mother helped our father massacre our entire family," Kol blurted out.

Katherine raised her brows, remembering that tiny detail of the story. "Okay, bad example... anyways, did you see the hot new blonde that just moved in?" Everyone gave her the same knowing look. "What? Am I missing something?"

"She's trouble." Rebekah glared at Caroline. "Not to mention she has terrible taste in people. I mean, just look at who she's talking to."

"Wow. Elena Gilbert. The new girl definitely knows how to put a target on her back."

"Now, now, Rebekah," Klaus chastised. "Let's not jump the gun just yet. She's new in town. She's American. She doesn't know what's good for her... yet."

Rebekah raised a brow at her elder brother. "What's good for her, then? You?"

Klaus's lips curved up into a devilish smirk, his gaze fixated on Caroline. "Trust me, Rebekah. She already knows that I'm not good for her."

When the bell rang, Caroline and Elena exchanged good-byes agreeing they would meet back at their dorm after school. Caroline stopped at her locker, quickly opening her locker and tossing her books inside. Okay. It's officially been one period and I'm still alive. Nothing bad has happened. I can do this. She thought. She took a deep breath before slamming her locker shut.

"Holy shit!" Caroline blurted out when she saw Klaus's face looming behind her locker. She felt her heart nearly jump out of her chest as she stood there with her mouth hanging open.

"My apologies." Klaus placed a hand over his heart. "I've frightened you. Where are my manners?"

"No!" Caroline's mind raced, having no control over what came out of her mouth. "You didn't frighten me. I was just caught off guard… I didn't hear your footsteps."

"Well, I hope you'll forgive me… Caroline, is it not?" Klaus flashed her a deceivingly innocent smile.

"Yeah, that's right," Caroline forced a smile even Elena's unrelenting voice echoing in the back of her mind describing the horrors of the Mikaelson family. She knew she would have to slip away soon. She's seen enough movies about the charming, handsome serial killer who seduces the stupid girls right before he kills them, and if there was anything Caroline was not, she was definitely not stupid and she would not go down without a fight. "Well, I should probably get going. It was nice meeting you though."

Klaus firmly grasped Caroline's arm as she attempted to walk past him. Her blues widened, staring into his own which she could've sworn grew darker. "Forgive me for being rude, sweetheart. My name is Klaus."

"I know," Caroline admitted. Her cheeks began to turn a light shade of pink, realizing that she just revealed how much she really knew about him. "I mean… you're very well-known around these parts. You have quite the reputation."

"A good one, I hope," Klaus smirked.

"Well-"

"Caroline!"

Klaus and Caroline turned their heads in the direction of the accented voice.

"Caroline, sweetheart. There you are. Stefan and I were just looking for you." Rebekah walked over to the two figures with her arm locked with Stefan's.

"I see Nik didn't waste any time putting the moves on you," Stefan smiled at Caroline as his eyes darted over to Klaus who was narrowing his eyes at him. Caroline blushed, feeling like a giant spotlight had inconveniently landed on her.

"Stefan, don't you have better things to do with my sister?" Klaus asked.

Stefan raised his hands in surrender. "Don't blame me, man. Rebekah was the one who dragged me over here."

Rebekah shot Caroline a sinister smile. "Well, I thought it would be rude to not greet the new girl." Rebekah offered her hand to Caroline. "Rebekah Mikaelson."

Caroline hesitated for a moment, but she didn't dare reject Rebekah. "Caroline Forbes."

"Well, Caroline, I have to ask: what made you decide to move all the way to England when you could've stayed in your quaint little town back in Virginia? I don't know about you, but if it had been me, I probably would've felt out of place and ran back to where people actually accepted me."

Caroline could practically see the venom Rebekah was spewing at her. Being on Rebekah's bad side had been Caroline's greatest fear since the day started, and now she was facing that fear head on. "Well, maybe that's the difference between you and me, Rebekah. Not everyone can handle being the underdog. Some people are more comfortable with being the bully who can't handle what she dishes out."

Rebekah felt her temper surge and pushed Caroline against her locker, pinning her there by the shoulder. "What did you say you insolent girl?! How dare you speak to me in such a manner?"

Caroline's breathing grew alarmingly heavy, seeing the fury behind Rebekah's blue eyes. "What are you gonna do? Kill me? I'm sure it wouldn't be your first time."

Rebekah's anger momentarily assuaged, taken aback by Caroline's bold accusations. It was no secret that the Mikaelsons were killers within the school, but everyone would usually dance around that little detail. No one ever had the courage to say anything to their faces. Except when someone was completely wasted, and those people usually didn't survive long enough for the party to end. "What did you say?"

Caroline was horrified that she actually let the words slip past her lips and now nothing could come out of her mouth.

"Enough, Rebekah," Klaus scolded. "Let the poor girl go."

"Over my dead body," Rebekah returned. "Did you hear what she said to me?"

"Oh, don't be so over dramatic, Rebekah. She was just having a bit of fun. Frankly, I quite enjoyed hearing what she had to say." Klaus flashed Caroline a half-smile, watching her face relax a bit afterward.

"You can't be serious." Rebekah was appalled.

Klaus slowly removed Rebekah's hand from Caroline's shoulder and replaced it with his own. "My apologies, love. My sister gets jealous quite easily."

"If you think I'm jealous of that half-witted twit, you are sadly mistaken, Nik," Rebekah retorted.

Klaus led Caroline away from Stefan and Rebekah, completely ignoring his sister's complaints. "Perhaps I can make it up to you somehow. I don't know if you're aware, but I happen to be the President of the welcoming committee. I could give you a private tour of this school if you'd like."

Caroline shook her head, amused. "The welcoming committee? You? I don't think so."

"What's wrong? You don't believe me?"

"Something tells me that you're no where near this friendly with the other new students."

"You're quite intuitive, Miss. Forbes."

"Back in Virginia people would always commend me on my sharp instincts." She quickly realized what was happening between them and casted her eyes in the direction of the lockers, doing whatever she could to avoid him from seeing the fear in her eyes.

"That's an admirable trait. I'm certain you'll get very far in life, Caroline."

"Well, thanks for the compliment and standing up to your sister for me. You didn't have to do that," she uttered nervously.

"Please, don't thank me. My brother and I like to get a rise out of Rebekah for sport. She'll calm down eventually."

"Well, I should probably get to class." Caroline attempted to walk past him, but he gently held her shoulder and she felt her heart begin to pound against her chest.

"I'd like to escort you to your next class in case Rebekah is still feeling bitter."

"Thanks but I think I can take care of myself. Besides, my next class is just down that hall and even if it wasn't, I refuse to live my life in fear." She brushed passed him, heading down the hall.

"My offer still stands, you know," Klaus called. Caroline turned around to see Klaus wearing a cocky grin. "That private tour is highly exclusive. I wouldn't waste an opportunity like that if I were you."

Caroline feigned confidence as she let a small smile slip past her lips. "I guess that's the difference between you and me."

So ta-da! Klaroline have met after ages... lol. This could either be the start of the Rebekah vs. Caroline World War or the most epic friendship story in the history of ever! Let me know your thoughts in a review!