To Feel - Part 8
I bend down and open my duffle bag, grab my sweater and throw it on to offer some protection against the cold night. We were allowed to wear our long sleeved tops for tonight's game because of the cold, but nothing beats a sweater.
I sigh, instantly feeling the warmth of it on my skin.
I stuff my pom poms in the duffle and sling the strap over my shoulder, walking out into the empty football field.
We won our homecoming game, as expected.
And now it's expected of me to show up at the after party.
I'm seriously considering just ditching and staying home because I want to avoid Tyler.
Thinking of Tyler makes me frown, and think of Klaus. Why had he been fighting Tyler? Why did Tyler get off the hook for the fight? Did Tyler even get a hit in?
Their encounter had been plaguing my thoughts since the moment I went back into the cafeteria. It picked at the edges of my brain while I was in class, and messed with my focus while we were running through our last minute pre-game practice.
I'm one of the last people to leave, so the parking lot is practically empty. I spot my car immediately.
I also spot Rebekah Mikaelson sitting on the curb of the parking lot, her hands stuffed deep in the pockets of her coat.
"Hey, Rebekah," I say, giving her some warning as to who's approaching. We know of each other, but we don't actually know each other.
I'm very, very aware that this is Klaus's sister. I'm also pretty sure she has no idea of the deal I made with Klaus. To her, I'm just another girl on the varsity cheer squad.
She looks up when I stop to stand next to her, giving me a tentative smile. "Hi, Caroline."
"Do you have a ride?" I ask, forcing myself to sound casual.
"Uh," she looks away from me and towards the parking lot entrance for a few seconds. "My brother is supposed to be picking me up. I'm sure he's late though."
I instinctively check my cell phone for the time. It's almost ten o'clock.
"Is he usually this late?" He was always there on time to pick her up from practice. The two times he had come over to my house he had also been pretty punctual.
She shakes her head. "It's not like him to be, no."
She doesn't offer anything else, but I don't want to leave her just like that.
So I drop my duffle bag on the ground next to her and sit on the curb.
She looks over at me questioningly.
"Well, I'm not just going to leave you out here by yourself," I shrug.
"You don't have to stay," she says.
"I know. But I want to," I shrug again. "So I'm assuming you've at least called your brother?" I take extra care to not say his name. For all she knows, I don't know her brother.
She's silent for a moment, regarding me carefully. It reminds me of the first time I spoke to Klaus, when he wouldn't say anything to me.
Thank God Rebekah isn't exactly like him. She talks.
"I did," she nods. "I've texted him, too, but he hasn't responded. I at least expected a text from him, especially since –"
She breaks off suddenly, as if she's caught herself saying more than she's really meant to.
"Especially since what?" I inquire.
Another sigh. "He got into a fight today, which got him sent home early. I thought he would be fine to pick me up, but as you can see," she gestures towards the Klaus-less parking lot. "He would have told me if he couldn't pick me up. At least I would have known to catch a ride with someone."
She stops talking, but I wait a couple more seconds before talking, just in case she isn't done.
I stand up, grabbing my bag. "Well, come on then. I'll give you a ride home."
"I don't want to be a bother."
I shrug. "You aren't," I offer my hand for her and she takes it, standing up and grabbing her own duffle. "Where do you live?"
She rattles off her address and gives me some rough directions so I get a pretty good idea of where I'm going. Apparently the Mikaelsons live in a mansion by the forest edge.
When we get into the car, I start it up and turn on the heater. Rebekah sighs gratefully, turning her vents so that the warm air is hitting her directly, putting her hands in front of them.
I chuckle. "Yeah, I feel you."
I do the same as I wait for the car to heat up.
"Thanks for doing this," Rebekah says after a couple of seconds of silence.
I shrug and smile. "It's no problem. Girls, especially squad members, have to stick together."
"You were really good today," she commends and I turn to look at her. "I mean, you're just really good in general. At cheerleading, I mean."
I blink at her, not really having expected the compliment. "Thank you," I say. "I've been doing it for as long as I can remember, so it's just a result of a lot of practice."
"I've only just started this year."
"Really?" I ask.
She nods. "Yeah. Back in London, where we lived before we moved here, cheerleading wasn't that big of a deal at my school. I did a lot of dancing – ballet and such."
"Why did you decide to do cheerleading here? Why not just keep dancing?"
She shakes her head and laughs ruefully. "This is going to sound horribly petty," she says.
"No, go ahead," I encourage, genuinely curious.
She looks at me apprehensively, and then looks away, focusing on her hands before speaking. "I really wanted to fit in."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with wanting to fit in."
"I know! It's just – my brothers give me crap for it all the time."
"For wanting to fit in?"
"Yes! But it's not like they would understand, you know? They're all so talented and confident," she turns in her seat then, fully facing me as she continues to speak. "Take Elijah, for example – he's graduating from college this year. He's so smart – he got into law school, and I think he's ahead by like a year or something."
Wow, that's impressive.
"And don't even get me started on Niklaus," she rolls her eyes and I try not to look rigid. I urge her on with a nod, because I do want her to get started on Klaus. Or Niklaus. Whatever.
"He's good at everything. Literally, everything I've seen him try, he looks so natural doing it. He mostly sticks to the arts – drawing, painting, the piano, the guitar."
I blink at her because – Painting? Piano?
Who the fuck was Klaus (excuse me, Niklaus) Mikaelson?
"Oh, and horseback riding. He does that too. He even did some rugby back at his school in London."
Sweaty Klaus on a horse. Sweaty Klaus playing rugby. Mama mia.
"Compared to them, I'm no big deal."
"That's not true," I shake my head. "From what you've told me, you're all uniquely outstanding in your own ways – Elijah with his brain and Niklaus with his art and stuff. From what I've seen, you're a good cheerleader, and you're good with people. Have you thought of maybe trying out for Miss Mystic Falls in a few years?"
She shakes her head. "What's that?"
I smile. "It's just this pageant we have here. The winner is crowned Miss Mystic Falls and keeps the title for a whole year. It's quite prestigious."
"Have you been Miss Mystic Falls?"
I shake my head. "You can't try out until junior year."
"Oh," she looks a little dejected.
"Which means you have plenty of time to get involved and make yourself the absolute best candidate you can be," I smile, and so does she. "You'll be the only Miss Mystic Falls out of all your siblings – guys can't try out."
That makes her laugh. I laugh too.
I notice that the car's already warm, so I put it in reverse and head out.
I let her pick the music while I drive, and I find that we have pretty similar tastes.
The Mikaelson mansion is outside of the suburbs, right at the forest's edge. There's a long, winding road that leads to the driveway and front of the house.
When I pull into the driveway, I can't help but take a second to stare.
"It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?" She asks, turning to grab her duffle from the back seat.
"Just a tad," I say. They're mansion is almost as big as the Mayor's mansion.
"My parents like their luxuries," she shrugs and undoes her seatbelt. "Thank you for the ride…and for the talk."
"Like I said, it's no problem. If you ever want to talk again, about anything, you can come to me."
She frowns and smiles at the same time. It's weird, but I can tell she looks conflicted. "Thank you, Caroline."
I shrug. "Thank you for DJ-ing," I say and she laughs, opening the door.
"I'll see you at practice," she says and I nod.
"See ya!" I call out and watch as she walks to the front door, pulls out her key, unlocks it and goes inside.
I sigh, putting the car in drive and turning towards the exit.
Apparently the Mikaelsons are so fancy that they have an entrance road and an exit road.
I turn on the high beams, just in case there's an animal further up on the road.
Something's on the side of the road.
It's not a something, it's a someone.
The someone turns to look in my direction, clearly surprised by the headlights.
It's Klaus Mikaelson.
I pull up next to him and roll down the passenger side window. He drops his hand from shielding his eyes.
"Caroline? What are you doing here?"
"I came to drop your sister off."
He shuts his eyes and lets out a breath, his head dropping back, a string of profanities spilling out of his mouth.
"She's home now?" He asks, finally looking at me again.
"Yes," I nod.
"Good."
Awkward silence.
For some reason, I feel like I should be very furious. I feel like I should have just kept driving and not have pulled over to talk to the guy who had hurt me.
"Where are you going?" I ask instead, because I obviously have no self control.
He frowns. "Shouldn't you be at a party or something?"
"You didn't answer my question," I shoot back, because he has no right to be questioning me. At least I don't think so.
He sighs, taking a hand out of his pocket to run it through his hair.
"I'm just headed into town."
"Walking? Don't you have a car?"
"It's currently…out of commission."
"Well…I can give you a ride?" I say, but it sounds more like a question than an offer.
He looks at me quizzically. "You're offering me a ride?"
"I just did, didn't I?"
He stays staring at me, like he can't believe I'm offering.
Did he think I was a bitch? He was walking, in freezing cold weather, late at night – why wouldn't I offer him a ride?
He reaches out and opens the car door, then sits down in the passenger seat.
When he closes the door I roll up the window and he buckles up.
Unlike his sister, he doesn't go straight for the heater vents. He stays stock still in his seat, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Where to?" I ask, moving forward slowly.
"Just drop me off at town square," he says and I nod, pressing the gas pedal more.
The ride to town square started silent, and to be completely frank, very awkward. Klaus didn't move or speak, so I turned on the radio and put the music low, since putting it high seemed inappropriate.
As I was driving into town, I glanced over at Klaus. He was looking straight ahead, and I caught sight of something on his face.
I turn slightly to get a better look at him.
"Oh my god!" I gasp, realizing that the area around his left eye is slightly swollen and turning purple.
At my outburst, he turns to look at me, and I catch a glimpse of the side of his lip, which is busted open and crusted with dried blood. "Klaus, what the heck!"
We reach town square and I park on the side of the street near the park. I turn in my seat and completely focus on him. He's trying to get his seatbelt off, avoiding my gaze.
I reach out and take hold of his shoulder to get his attention. He winces, looking up at me all bewildered-like. I press my fingers into his shoulder more firmly and he winces again, shirking away from me.
"Bloody hell, Caroline!"
"Sorry," I lament automatically and pull my hand away. "What happened to you? Was this Tyler?"
He stays quiet and looks away from me.
I'm not having it.
"Do you need to go to the hospital? Why didn't you tell me? Were you just going to walk there from here?"
"Why do you ask so many fucking questions?" He growls, turning to me looking very annoyed. I swallow, refusing to show any fear.
"Because you look like shit and I'm worried about you." I only speak the truth.
He's breathing heavy, like he's having problems breathing or like he's run a marathon. His eyes set suddenly and he speaks again.
"Stay out of my goddamn business," he says and goes to open the door. But I'm quicker, and I lock it through my controls, effectively locking him in. He curses.
"Why are you so insistent!" He's yelling now, turning on me with all his fury. I have to admit, he's scary when he's mad. Especially with an almost black eye and a busted lip.
"Because you keep shutting me out! I'm offering to help you, and all you're doing is yelling and growling at me!" If he thought I would be docile and meek then he was completely and utterly wrong.
That shuts him right the fuck up. He's looking at me like he's confused, which, I'm pretty sure he is.
So I sigh, close my eyes and take a deep breath.
"Where are you going, Klaus?" I plead for him to answer. "If you need to go to the hospital, I could just take you."
"I'm not going to the hospital," he says, his voice low.
"Then where are you going?" I can feel the atmosphere in the car changing the more we speak. We aren't yelling any more, and he doesn't seem angry.
"I don't know," he says. "I don't know where I'm going."
He's very serious. I don't know if it's just the lighting, but I swear his eyes are glossy. His lips are pursed.
I catch my breath, taking in the beautiful man in front of me, one word coming to the forefront of my mind as I take in the expression on his face.
Broken.
Against better judgment, I can feel my heart ache for him.
Against better judgment, I ask him to come to my house.
And he says yes.
I am soososorry for not updating since Wednesday!
You guys deserve a double update today, so I'll be posting Part 9 in a few hours ;)