Hello, my lovely fans and reader. Sorry about the late update, I thought that I corrected this chapter and placed it on my flashdrive to be uploaded last Saturday but I had the next chapter. So, this week you will get two updates, one today and one this Saturday. On with the show…
Chapter 33: Everyone is Afraid of Something
Whereas taking care of Alexander had seemed easy, Conner Jordan was another story altogether. I had no idea what the boy was afraid of. No matter how many informants I encouraged with the flash of green, they simply shook their heads. As far as they knew there was nothing that scared Conner. He just did not feel fear.
Now, I knew that this was impossible and we only had a weekend to take care of this group. So, we had to move quickly. Alexander was hiding in the infirmary since he had been labeled a wuss who wet his pants over figments of his own over active imagination. No one was more irritated than Vaughn. After all, this was one of his friends and his friends' actions reflected upon him. After Alexander's night terrors, Vaughn had redoubled his efforts to terrify his fellow school mates.
"I don't think this even worked," Damon complained. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he looked angry as Elena sat down on his knee and leaned her head on his shoulder. Stefan placed an arm around his brother's shoulders.
"We can't just give up now," I exclaimed but Marcel was staring down at his feet with his arms crossed. The only person who seemed to be glowing with new purpose was Caroline. She looked thoughtful as her lips pursed slightly. "What is it, sweetheart?" I murmured, keeping my eyes on her.
Shaking her head slowly, Caroline bit down on her lip. "I don't know if it would work."
"What?" Damon asked, his head whirling to take in Caroline's thoughtful look.
"I was just thinking that my worst fear for a while was that I would wake up and be a boy," Caroline told us and I frowned.
"Caroline, I do not think that you will ever wake up and find that you are a boy," I reassured her. Even the thought of her as boy seemed preposterous to me.
"I get it," Marcel muttered, smiling and nodding his head slowly.
"Get what?" Elena asked, lifting her head and looking drowsy.
"You think that maybe Conner's worst fear is that he would wake up and find out he was turning into a girl," Marcel nodded at Caroline who grinned happily.
"Really?" Damon's eyebrows rose and he smirked. "Now, that I would pay to see."
"But how do we convince him that he's becoming a girl?" Stefan asked, looking around at the rest of us.
I had to think about that one for a little while. Stefan was right. This would be no easy task to perform. "How do you convince someone that they're turning into the opposite gender?" I questioned the group aloud.
"There are people who want to be the opposite gender," Caroline informed us and now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.
Caroline shrugged. "I read that in a magazine. I would never want to be a boy."
"We get it," Damon snapped. "That doesn't help our ability to convince Conner that he is becoming a girl."
"What if he wants to be a girl?" Caroline asked Damon. He began to laugh and his body shook nearly knocking Elena to the floor.
"Sure, Care. I really think that Conner wants to be a girl," Damon rolled his eyes. "Why would he?"
"I don't know," Caroline snapped at Damon. "Maybe that's just who he is. Like my Dad."
"Your Dad wants to be a girl?" Stefan looked incredulous.
Slapping her hand against her forehead, Caroline began to shake her head vehemently. "No, stupid. My Dad is gay. But that's just who he is. I think that's the thing about the guys who want to be girls. That's who they are. They just weren't born that way."
Frowning, Stefan rolled his eyes, "I'm not stupid. That was mean, Caroline. It's not my fault that I don't read the weird magazines that you read with weird people who want to do stuff to themselves."
"It's not weird," Caroline snarled and I thought she was about to tackle Stefan.
"Come on, people. Let's get back on topic here," Marcel called. "It doesn't seem to matter whether Conner wants to be a girl. What matters is that we can make him think that he's becoming one."
"And how do we do that, pray tell?" I asked my friend, feeling a twinge of admiration for Marcel's ability to stop the impending argument and to force the group's attention back to the topic at hand.
"I do believe that Conner is eleven, yes?" I called out. Damon and Marcel nodded in agreement and I began to pace. "Then it would not be unnatural for him to experience changes."
"Like what?" Stefan looked confused.
"Breasts," Damon blurted out and then blushed when Elena blinked rapidly and then punched him in the arm. "Ow, what was that for?"
"I don't know," Elena replied as her face turned red.
Shaking his head, Damon turned to look at me. "So, we find a way to make him think he's growing breasts."
"Good idea, Damon. Anything else?" I waited for answers from the group since I had older brothers and dreaded the day that Rebekah began to become a young woman.
"Period," Elena whispered, making a gagging face.
"Huh?" Stefan looked confused again.
Elena shook her head and Caroline decided to fill in, "When girls get old enough they start bleeding and they have to use these pad things."
"Ew," Stefan shivered. "That doesn't happen to boys, does it?"
I rolled my eyes, "No, Stefan. That is the point."
"Well, I didn't know that," Stefan grunted before sitting down on the bed beside his brother. "So, how do you make the Conner kid think that he's got that gross thing happening to him?"
"More sauce," Elena told us.
"No," I protested. "He'll know the difference."
"So, what you want to bleed something to make it look real?" Marcel looked slightly sick at the thought.
"Do you have a better idea?" I snapped at him.
"No," Marcel groaned, shaking his head and deflating. "What are we going to kill? It won't be a cat or something like that. I heard that's how people turn into serial killers. They start with cats."
"Who's to say that we won't all grow up to be serial killers?" I questioned Marcel who looked surprised and a little sick. "I'm kidding," I told him although I wasn't sure that I was.
"We could all like cut our fingers and dribble out a little bit of blood. That way we won't have to kill anything," Caroline explained quickly.
I shrugged, "Alright. What else?"
"Girls act crazy," Damon added. "Remember how Kat and Jenna used to act," running a hand through his hair he chuckled. "Still do."
"Hey," Elena protested, punching Damon in the shoulder again. "That's my sister and my aunt."
"Ow. Stop doing that," Damon snapped, rubbing his now sore shoulder. "It's not my fault that you have so many hormonely addled females in your family."
"Huh?" Stefan stared at his brother.
"Elena, if Stefan says huh one more time, be a dear and punch him, please?" Damon muttered, giving Stefan an evil look.
"Whatever," Stefan muttered.
"How are we going to make any of this work?" Caroline asked me.
"By convincing him that these things are really happening to him like how we convinced Alexander that ghosts are real," I informed her.
"How?" Caroline replied and I could see that she was about to call me stupid, too. I had a feeling that she might have developed that habit from someone she knew while she was missing during the summer. I vowed to find that person and give them a good slap in the head.
Forcing a wide smile, I informed Caroline, "This is where you and Elena will have to come in."
"No," Caroline snapped and I glared at her.
"What?!" I hissed at her.
"I don't want to play distraction all the time and that was what you were about to say. Isn't it, Nik?" Caroline's voice got higher as she leveled her accusation at me.
"Uh oh," Damon grinned. "Trouble in paradise. Everyone, it's time to leave before they explode," getting up, Damon led everyone out of our room.
"What is wrong with you?" Caroline hissed at me the minute the door was closed.
"Nothing in wrong with me," I retorted.
"Yes, there is," Caroline snapped.
"No, there is not," I told her, feeling my chest begin to heave with anger.
"Is it because you were sent away? Because Elijah is working on getting you to come home," Caroline informed me slowly.
"I'm sure he is since it's his fault. And…" I started to add Hayley but I simply did not want to talk about her right now. Or maybe I didn't want to say what I thought at that moment because I knew that it would hurt Caroline's feelings. She thought she was doing the right thing, inviting the girl into her home. I just hoped she hadn't made a colossal mistake.
"And what, Nik?" Caroline prompted gently. She came to stand in front of me and I felt the urge to tell her everything that was bothering me but I forced myself to keep my mouth closed.
"Nothing," I told her firmly. Walking around Caroline, I reached for the doorknob when Caroline called after me.
"But we're still good, right, Nik?" Caroline called and I could hear the fear in her voice.
Hesitating at the door, I nodded. "Yes, Caroline. We're good," I told her before pulling the door open and walking into the hallway.
"Do you still want me to play the distraction?" Caroline asked me, coming to walk beside me.
Flicking my gaze to meet her eye, I frowned. "I thought you didn't want to do that."
"Whatever you want me to do, I will do," Caroline whispered to me and I felt the urge to scream. It was just so unfair that she would be ripped away from me so soon. It was little more than a day before she would leave and then I had no idea when I would see her once again.
"I need you to distract Vaughn. He and Conner will be even more inseparable now that Alexander is in hiding," I told Caroline and dreaded her reaction.
Caroline smiled at me without a trace of anger or resentment that I expected to see from her. She was nine but mature for her age. It was odd to think that we were all growing up and had come far from when we met originally. "Just point me at him," she sounded like someone who was a lot older as we stepped off the bottom of the stairs and I looked around. Spotting Vaughn, I nodded in his direction and Caroline hurried off.
I felt my stomach twist up as Caroline began to twist a long curl around her finger and smiled up at Vaughn. He was such an ass. Taking him down next would give me great pleasure. However, I had to separate him from his friends first before any real damage could be done. This was the thought that kept me from striding across the floor and punching him in the face when he leaned down to whisper something into Caroline's ear that made her giggle.
"How's the plan going?" Damon asked me. I jumped because I had been so focused upon Caroline and my archenemy that I did not notice my best friend sneak up on me.
"They look cute together," Damon observed and then laughed when I gave him a death glare. "Come on, Nik. Lighten up. You don't own Caroline. Although I'm not sure she gets that yet."
"Let's just get this over with, shall we?" I muttered before walking away.
Walking across the room, I noticed that Elena had gained Conner's attention while Vaughn was distracted. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. My older brother is growing them, too," Elena murmured quietly to Conner, patting his shoulder. "I'm sure no one will notice," I noticed that Conner was staring at his chest with a look of horror and then looking around the room.
Shifting my gaze back to Damon quickly I decided that we should have a chat outside. "Elena is good at this." Then I looked around. "Where are Stefan and Marcel?"
"They went in search of lunch," Damon told me.
"You're kidding. Everyone has to be working on this. There is no time for a lunch break," I scowled as Damon rolled his eyes toward the sky.
"Nik, calm down. We'll get them. We took Alexander down. We'll get Conner and then we just have to get Vaughn. So, chill," Damon whispered while families milled about and I ran a hand over my eyes.
"Damon, I'm sorry. I have not been sleeping well lately," I told him.
"Tell me about it," Marcel called as he and Stefan appeared with a couple of sacks.
"What is that?" I asked, inclining my head toward the sacks.
"Lunch," Marcel told me. "Now, why don't you go collect Lucy and Ethel and we can have a nice little picnic and try to appear normal for the next couple of hours?"
Smirking, I strolled back inside and tried to look like I was just taking a stroll through the main room downstairs where the guests were allowed to mix with the residents of the school. Peering at Caroline, I finally gained her attention and waved toward the doorway. She smiled up at Vaughn and excused herself. Walking over to Elena, Caroline tapped her on the arm and spoke to her. They then moved toward the door. Pausing until they left, I then moved forward and out into the sunshine.
When we were a healthy distance away from the building, I linked arms with Caroline and Elena and we danced toward the picnic laid out. Damon shook up a Coke can and sprayed Stefan in the face who then spit on his brother's sandwich. When Marcel wasn't looking, Damon switched their sandwiches. I rolled my eyes but laughed. It was nice to able to relax. As soon as the reign of terror was over then I hoped the whole school could relax.
Later that night, I cut myself and dripped my blood into a glass beaker that Damon had gotten his hands on. How he got a hold of a glass beaker, I did not want to know. Damon dripped his own blood in next. When we felt we had enough, we trailed downstairs. The problem that we had to deal with was that we needed Vaughn out of the room. For this Caroline took on the job of playing distraction which I felt bothered by.
We stood behind the corner at the end of the hallway. Caroline tapped lightly on the door of Vaughn's room and waited patiently. When he opened the door he grinned at Caroline. "Hi, I just can't sleep. Could we go somewhere and talk? I just feel so far away from home and I'm so very bored."
"Is Klaus not entertaining, Caroline?" Vaughn inquired with an even wider grin and Damon had to stop me from walking down the hall and hitting the older boy.
"No, he's gotten boring. Or maybe I forgot how boring he is," Caroline began to giggle. I felt my heart squeeze painfully at her words. "Can you entertain me?"
"Sure," Vaughn replied, "Let me grab a jacket and we can go outside." What felt like a second later drifted by and he came out into the hallway with said jacket. Instead of putting it on her draped it over Caroline's shoulders. "In case you might get cold." They started to walk down the opposite end of the hallway and I panicked. It had not occurred to me that they would be leaving the building.
"I've got it," Damon reassured me before slipping down the hall to keep an eye of Caroline.
Elena reached for the doorknob of Conner's door and twisted it noiselessly open and then closed. I slid inside the room with her and closed the door behind us. We climbed under the bed and waited. After several minutes there was knocking at the door and Conner grumbled to Vaughn to get his lazy ass up and answer it. Then he seemed to notice that Vaughn was not there. Getting up, Conner forced his feet toward the door and out into the hallway. Elena and I rolled out from under the bed. She uncapped the beaker and then took a bunch of paper towels from a nap sack and dried the blood as much as possible so that Conner wouldn't notice that his bed was wet. My hope was that he would be so tired he wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary until the morning.
Marcel's head appeared in the doorway. "Hurry up," he called quietly and I grabbed Elena by the arm and yanked her out the door. We literally ran as quietly as possible in our socks down the hall and around the corner, popping my head around the corner and watching Conner re-enter his room. When he didn't come back out after I counted to five hundred, I figured we were safe.
Marcel walked Elena and Stefan upstairs and I split off from the group. Heading outside I found Damon near the garden. He was watching Caroline and Vaughn who were sitting on a swing and Damon did not look any happier than I felt. Sneaking up behind Damon I made him jump and smiled because it was payback. "Time to go," I whispered to him.
Damon picked up a pebble and threw it, hitting Vaughn in the back of the head. We dropped down to the ground on our bellies and waited. After a few minutes we heard Caroline say that she was tired and that they should go inside. Giving it another countdown, Damon and I headed back inside and just barely managed to avoid Vaughn as he walked into the room.
Hurrying up the stairs, Damon and I walked inside. He climbed into his bed with Elena and Stefan. I climbed into my own with Caroline. I could not wait for morning to see how Conner would react but I contented myself by being able to wrap my arms around Caroline and go to sleep.
Damon had to shake me awake the next morning. "Nik, get up. I think it worked." I lifted my head, feeling drowsy as Damon and Marcel dragged me down the stairs and we found Conner freaking out in his room. He was screaming and I felt kind of bad.
"This is not right. I can't be turning into a girl. This is not happening to me," Conner was shouting at Vaughn who was trying to calm his friend down but by then there was a whole crowd in the hallway.
"You're just sick, mate," Vaughn murmured. "You'll go spend some time with our friend, Alex, in the infirmary. Then you'll feel better after you get some sleep." His eyes moved out toward the crowd and his eyes narrowed when he saw me smirking. "You little bastard," Vaughn snarled coming to stand in front of me. "You two had something to do with this."
"Man, I think you're the one who needs to go the infirmary," Damon retorted. "We're going to breakfast," wrapping his arm around my shoulders, Damon directed me down the hall. Marcel strode beside us quietly but I could tell he was happy. We met up with the rest of the group and headed off to eat. Two down, one to go.
I really hope that you all enjoyed the chapter because there will be one more revenge based chapter that will be posted on Saturday. There might be like one or two chapter that do not include Caroline between this chapter and chapter 40. Past that I have no idea because I haven't thought that far along. I can say that Caroline does not appear in chapter 35 but that's because it focuses on bringing a few more familiar male faces: what does that sound like, another British voice? Uh huh, yeah starts with an E and end with an O. Are you curious to see how Klaus will get along with that character? Hint: the word usurper should come to mind when E arrives.
Review Answers:
Tuzin: I wouldn't count on the idea of there being problems related to Caroline between Klaus and Damon. But I haven't gotten that far… if there is some kind of triangle it probably won't show up until the next story or the third or fourth.
Elijahlover: Thank you for reading the article. I really wanted to get readers to consider other angles of why it is/was hard to watch Hayley without reservation. I still waver back and forth. It will all depend on the development of the character.
Snow guest: I haven't quite figured out who is taking care of Klaus' candle or whether he brought it with him but it will be addressed before chapter 40. I also want to thank you for being my four hundredth reader and to ask if there is any kind of request I can fulfill for you?
Rose: Thanks for noticing that the last chapter was a reflection back to the beginning of the story. Oddly, I'm trying to double back on some of the themes I used in the beginning because I'm trying to wrap the story up while adding new elements that will guide us into the next story. As for the ages and the years I can't keep on top of how old anyone is anymore. I had a list and then lost it…
Thank you for reading, faving, following and for reviewing: purpleshampoo, tuzin, Anna the Vampire Princess, ferrylis, Klaroline-lovegames, pleasesaycaroline, elijahlover, Snow Guest, redbudrose, Guest and chhavi.
Peace,
LL