Chapter 18

She bit her lip and parted her mouth to say something when both Klaus and Caroline's heads snapped in the opposite direction.

"Nik mother is calling you…" said the intruder. When he saw the angered look on his brother's face and the confused blonde beauty, he was so sure he had interrupted something.

"My my! What do we have here?" Kol asked sarcastically leaning against the door frame. Caroline flushed and detached her hands from Klaus' and cleared her throat.

"I'm gonna go find Bonnie" She said as she brushed past Kol and walked away. Kol followed her movement until she was out of sight. She was a pretty little thing. Maybe he could play with her. Just to get a rise out of his brother.

"Settling for a baby vampire… The first sign of weakness." Kol said casually as he walked towards his brother holding a flute of champagne in one hand, twirling it. "I never thought you'd be one to settle down Nik. I must say I'm shocked"

"Don't make me put you back in a box Kol" Klaus warned with an annoyed sigh and walked out of the room angrily. He had created a moment with Caroline after much effort and was just a second away from getting to taste her again but Kol being himself has to interfere. He was going to pay for this. Not now but surely he would pay for this. Maybe another fifty years in that wretched coffin might teach him a lesson or two.

Caroline almost ran away from the embarrassment she had to endure when Klaus' psychotic brother walked in on them holding hands like a freaking teen couple. She was sure her skin color would've changed from pale to crimson red. She kept her head down and almost bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry. I should've watched where I was going" she rambled to the person.

"No it's quite alright." He said and looked up. "Miss Forbes I'm surprised to see you here!" he exclaimed.

Caroline's head immediately shot up at the voice she heard. "Yeah well your brother just couldn't take no for an answer" she replied in her head strong way.

Elijah smiled. It was not a pleasant smile, not a sweet smile but a rather dangerous smile. She gave him a warring look and smiled back awkwardly. "Niklaus has not behaved such in a long time. I advise you to tread carefully." He threatened in a very gentle yet firm voice. "I hope you enjoy the evening" he said and smiled once again as he walked towards the stairs.

Bonnie noticed her friend's shocked expression and moved to stand beside her while the Mikaelsons were gathering at the stairs. She shook Caroline by her shoulders slightly. "Hello? Caroline to Earth!" Bonnie exclaimed desperately.

Caroline shook her head and let out a weird laugh, "Sorry I was just… somewhere else. This family is weird. I don't even know why I came here." She replied and then realized she was rambling again. "So what's up? Did Elena talk to her?" Caroline asked coming back to the topic.

"No not yet. Damon isn't agreeing but I think something happen to him. He is being all gentlemanly and protective. Is he seeing Elena in us?" The witch joked with a halfhearted chuckle which Caroline shared awkwardly. If only she knew that Damon had gone down memory lane.

"What happened with Kol? I heard…" Caroline couldn't complete when Elijah started off with his speech. Caroline rolled her eyes when she saw Klaus smirking towards her. It wasn't a minute later that Caroline noticed another original brother grinning in her direction. Why was Kol beaming like a 'Cheshire Cat'? She thought to herself. When she turned to her friend Bonnie she completely understood why.

She pulled her by the arm and whispered, "Bonnie Bennett! Why is Kol Mikaelson making doe eyes at you?" she asked accusingly.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I don't know. He has been that way all night especially since I gave him that aneurysm" she replied back tiredly. Caroline narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"Elena" spoke Liz Forbes coming from behind her and Damon. Or Sheriff Forbes considering her attire.

"Oh hi. How are you Sheriff Forbes?" Elena greeted sweetly. Liz didn't return the smile as warmly as expected. "I need to borrow Damon for a bit. Why don't you go with Stefan?" she suggested and when Damon nodded, she went and stood beside Stefan.

Liz led Damon into another room and closed the door behind them. Damon's back was turned towards Liz and when he heard her lock the door, he smiled. "Is this the part where we're supposed to have sex?" Damon whispered jokingly.

When Liz didn't give him a remark, he turned and saw her holding a gun to his chest. "No this is the part where you pay for what you did to my daughter" she replied and before Damon could even blink, she shot him multiple times in the chest and finally shot him in the head, causing him to drop on the floor with a loud thud. She quickly injected him with a heavy dose of vervain to be on the safe side and motioned for her deputies to take over the rest. Her deputies for this job were Klaus' hybrids.

Klaus sensed it was about time that the Sheriff would've taken care of Damon. He smirked and made his way to Caroline. He extended his hand towards her with a prominent wolfish grin plastered to his face, "May I have this dance love?" he asked in a soft and subtle voice. Caroline bit her lip and looked around if anyone else was available. Anyone but him. Alas, Elena was dancing with Stefan, Matt with Rebekah, Bonnie with Jeremy and Damon… Where the hell was Damon? She'd rather dance with Damon than him. Ughh! If she didn't want to dance with him why did she even come? Oh right, because he practically dragged her from her house.

She couldn't find any more excuses, Klaus raised his eyebrows at her passing an innocent smile. "Fine" she muttered and placed her hand in his. His smirk widened as he placed her hand on his arm and walked towards the ballroom. They definitely caught the eye of everyone in the room. The doppelganger and witch turned to give her a disapproving look while Stefan looked at her worriedly along with that quarterback Matt Donovan. Kol smirked when he saw his brother taking place with the baby vampire.

Klaus ignored everyone's suggestive looks and took his place with the gorgeous blonde next to him. When the music began he placed one hand on her small back and saw her visibly stiffen and shift a little uncomfortably. He beamed deviously, At least he had an effect on her. 'She couldn't deny that now' he thought.

They swayed to the music and from time to time Klaus tried to initiate a light conversation with her but she shut him down at every turn. Once the partners were exchanged, Bonnie got stuck with Kol, Elena with Elijah, Caroline with Stefan, Klaus got Rebekah and Jeremy and Matt disappeared after a while.

"No more headaches my little witch?" Kol asked teasingly as he swung Bonnie with the tune of the music.

Bonnie gave him a stern look, "If you want I can give you … anytime" she spoke harshly and looked away.

"Perhaps you can visit me tomorrow night and show me more of your talents" he purred seductively. Bonnie scoffed and kept looking away.

"What the hell is wrong with Kol? He is sick" Caroline spoke as she leaned in and danced slowly with Stefan. They both overheard Kol and Bonnie's little interaction.

"All the Mikaelsons have their own sick mind games" He answered back smiling at his best friend. Caroline raised her eyebrows and beamed back. "Stop with the double meaning Stefan Salvatore. I saw you with Elena. What's going on?" she asked genuinely concerned for her friend and also trying to divert the topic from her.

Stefan smiled and shook his head, "Nothing is going on. Elena talked to her with Bonnie. I'll tell you later… okay?" She nodded. "So what's going on with you and a certain original hybrid?" Stefan asked beaming like an idiot.

"Thought you didn't care? You know ripper Stefan who doesn't care about anybody" she replied back jokingly. Stefan laughed wholeheartedly.

"I'm very competitive. I need to know what I'm up against." He answered back laughing. "But I'm sure Klaus is nowhere near me. I like to keep tabs on my blondes"

"Blondes huh? I thought you were into brunettes. Petrova to be exact" she asked fighting back her urge to laugh her ass off. "Nah! Blondes are the new trend" he answered back laughing.

Caroline held her finger up and gave him a disapproving look, "No flirting with your sober coach!" she warned and giggled as soon as she saw her best friend laughing at her comments. Such moments made Caroline and Stefan's friendship very special. They could be totally open with each other and make up jokes in the most serious situations.

Klaus was closely observing the contact between the ripper and his girl. He was only a minute away from splitting Stefan to shreds. The way he leaned in close to her and left a soft kiss on her cheek. The way he touched her like he had the bloody right to. The way she leaned in closer to him, completely comfortable by his touch. It made him boil in rage.

"Stop staring Nik. It's weird" Rebekah commented grinning. Klaus turned his attention back towards his baby sister. "I do hope for your sake you know what you have to do otherwise…" he threatened.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "No need for threats Nik. I know what to do. Besides I don't want to get on the wrong side of your toxic hybrid teeth." She hissed back.

Klaus glared his sister, "Poppycock! I would never bite you. I always prefer the dagger for your punishment" he stated with a devious smirk.

Rebekah sighed, "You know well enough I never betray you. Besides I think it's going to be a fun evening." She said with a pouty smile.

As soon as the dance was over Klaus nodded towards Kol and Rebekah who smirked back in return. Klaus approached Stefan in the corner who was standing alone. Good, he didn't need Caroline protecting Stefan when he had to deal with him. Klaus walked towards Stefan and stood right next to him.

Stefan ignored his presence and continued sipping his champagne. "Stefan! I'm surprised to see you here. I could kill you in a blink and no one would even notice." Klaus threatened.

"Caroline would notice" Stefan answered back with a hint of mockery. Klaus clenched his jaw and fisted his hands. "She would never forgive you if you did anything to me" Stefan added with a fake smile.

"What makes you think I care about what Caroline would do or not." Klaus countered. He couldn't show anyone his weakness anymore.

Stefan turned to face Klaus and gave him an annoyed expression, "You know what Klaus? Stop pretending. Everyone knows you'd do anything for Caroline." He announced.

"Okay granted. I would do anything. But I could just compel her" he spoke back. Stefan's eyes widened at the realization that he just put out his best friend in front of Klaus as an offering again.

"Whatever you do Klaus. You can't compel her. She's been through enough and doesn't need…" Klaus cut him off by laughing abruptly.

"So you do know" Klaus stated as a matter of fact. "And here I thought my hybrid was incompetent of giving me truthful information" he added.

Stefan's eyebrows knit in confusion, "How did you…" Stefan wasn't allowed to complete as Klaus snapped his neck. "4 down, 2 more to go" Klaus muttered as his hybrids discreetly carried away Stefan's limp body from the back.

Half an hour passed and Caroline could not find anyone. She looked around for Stefan and even tried using her vampire hearing but couldn't find him. Then she went to look for Matt, considering he came here with the she-devil his safety wasn't really guaranteed. Rebekah didn't answer about Jeremy or Matt's whereabouts. This was it. She had to find Elena and Bonnie. If they weren't to be found there were only two possibilities. Either they're making a plan without her or the originals had made a move against them. Either way she had to find out.

Luckily for her she didn't have to jump to any serious conclusions when she found an annoyed Bonnie and a worried Elena looking around the manor.

"Elena! Bonnie!" Caroline voiced from the far end as she made her way to her friends.

"Care" they cried back in unison. "Something is going on. Have you seen Jeremy or Matt?" Bonnie asked.

"No I've been looking everywhere for them but I couldn't find them. I thought you guys would be making some sort of plan or something." Caroline answered back looking around to see if only she could catch a glimpse of her other friends.

"Something is going on. Damon's been missing all evening" Elena spoke up. Bonnie rolled her eyes. She could care less about Damon but the only problem was Stefan, Jeremy and Matt were missing too.

"I'm sure it's one of Klaus' tricks to get to us. Bonnie stay with Elena and go to Rebekah. Make her tell you where Matt is. I'll go talk to Klaus." Caroline said and sighed. She did not want to face Klaus again but alas she had no option.

"I don't think its safe Caroline. I mean we should stick together. Klaus could hurt you…" Elena protested but Caroline cut her off.

"Elena I'm a vampire. Besides Klaus could be torturing Stefan or Damon this instant. I think it's best we split up. I'll be safe. Don't worry about me." She reassured her friend and walked away.

She walked around the manor endlessly but couldn't find Klaus. Just when she was about to lose hope she found Klaus and Kol chatting up with the Mayor, A.K.A, Tyler's mom. She marched straight to him and pulled him out of the conversation by dragging him by his arm outside the mansion.

"Sweetheart you do realize you pulled me out of a fascinating conversation with the mayor…" he said sardonically and let her drag him to the gardens where they couldn't be heard.

Once they reached she stopped and turned to glare him with a frown plastered on her face. When he looked at her, though, he couldn't contain his laughter and started chuckling. She had absolutely no idea how adorable she looked all flustered and angry.

When he didn't stop laughing, she stomped her foot in annoyance, "What's so funny?" she practically yelled at him. He positioned his pointer finger on his lips and contained his laughter.

"Do you need something love?" He asked ignoring her question. That would just be revealed in a while. Not now though.

"Where are Stefan and Damon?" she asked directly jumping to the point. He didn't flinch for even a second to let his guard down. Although he was shocked she was so sure he had something to do with their disappearance.

"I don't know love. Why don't you ask your friend Elena? She has them wrapped around her finger." He said with a mysterious mirth in his blue eyes.

She just shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him angrily, "Stop this. I swear to God Klaus if you hurt them…" she threatened.

Klaus took a few steps towards her and stood right in front of her with his hands clasped behind his back. "You will what sweetheart?" he asked playfully.

"I will kill you" she spoke with fake confidence. Klaus merely smiled at her, "I'm immortal" he retorted.

"Whatever. Just tell me where they are Klaus. Enough with your stupid games" she huffed in annoyance.

"As you wish sweetheart. I'll ask Rebekah to help you find them" he offered and held out his arm for her, "Let's go inside. Shall we?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes and reluctantly took his arm and followed him inside. 'Why did she even come here?' she mentally cursed herself.

A/N:

Hope you guys enjoyed. Again I'm going to say this, Klaus is NOT going soft. He always likes to get what he wants even if he has to use a few tricks. Manipulation can be one of them. If you have any other queries, please feel free to ask.

Thank you for your continued support. Follow, favor and review. Take care guys!