"So what exactly is Henrik?" Caroline asked hesitantly and glanced at Stefan, who was sitting at the front seat beside her. She was once again behind the wheel so she wouldn't have to tell Stefan and Bonnie where they were going. It was more fun that way.
"A boy." Stefan deadpanned, earning a glare from Caroline. "Both his parents have the werewolf gene, so that's what he is. He is a normal boy until his werewolf side is triggered. We don't know what will happen if he is turned into a vampire, though. Maybe he won't need any doppelgänger blood to become a hybrid."
"I guess that makes sense." Caroline said thoughtfully and couldn't help but wonder how easy that 'if' could turn into a 'when'.
"So now we know what Stefan, Bonnie and I have been doing for these past five years. That leaves only one. Spill the beans, 'Lena!" Caroline chirped and looked at her friend expectantly, who in return sent her a wary smile.
"After the whole Damon/Klaus thing I went to live with Jeremy, as you know, and made sure that he started in college. I tried to do the same, but I barely got through one year. Once I followed one your postcards, Care and somehow ended up in Italy, where I accidentally ran into Damon." Elena told them and paused when the others looked at her shockingly. Apparently this was new information for every one of them.
"I don't know if Klaus knows, but I barely even had eye contact with Damon. I remember this pure hate I felt for him and how my thoughts revolved only around that for so many days that it suddenly began feeling unnatural. I knew that Klaus had compelled me to hate him and that I once had loved Damon, so I began following him like some creepy stalker and everything he did would just infuriate me.
"I became so obsessed with just hating him that it began to physically hurt because I at the same time had the memories of loving him. And one day I couldn't take it anymore, so I switched it off. I let go of my humanity and I was free. All my worries, sorrow and guilt towards you guys and my hate for Damon was gone. And I guess the rest is history." Elena finished with a shrug of her shoulders and fell back in her seat as she waited for her friends to digest her words.
"Wow." Caroline breathed as she eyed Elena through the rearview mirror. "I guess Klaus' compulsion worked a little too well."
"I guess so." Elena shrugged and stared out of the window at the passing-by landscape.
"When was this?" Caroline then asked curiously and Elena frowned in thought.
"A year and a half ago, I think." Elena replied with uncertainty, but it was enough to make Caroline's jaw drop. "I kinda lost track of time."
"And you didn't know about this?!" Caroline asked Stefan alarmingly. She understood that the two of them hadn't spoken much during the last five years, but it seemed impossible that Stefan didn't know about his ex-girlfriend running wild.
"I went looking for her after not hearing from her for some months, but I couldn't find her in the States. It wasn't until Bonnie returned that we managed to track her down and then we had to spend some time catching her." Stefan explained and Caroline couldn't help but think that it sounded more like a hunt than a search for an old friend.
"And then you kept her in Klaus' cellar for over two months." Caroline pointed out dryly and she heard Bonnie sigh defeatedly.
"Caroline, it's fine, really. They couldn't get me to turn it back on and they couldn't just let me run around killing people either." Elena told with a scrunch of her nose and Caroline recognized the guilt-ridden look in her eyes.
"You have to stop beating yourself up about it, Elena. You're a vampire; that's what happens." Caroline said soothingly, but her words seemed to have the opposite effect on her friends.
"When did Caroline Forbes begin talking about killing people as something 'that happens'?" Elena asked indignantly and Caroline realized that she had spoken before thinking once again. "Are you killing people for food now?!"
"No! I haven't killed anyone for food since that first guy when I had just turned. But I stopped denying what I am, which means I no longer run from my problems; I make sure they run from me. And I'm not trying to be all scary and homicidal; I'm trying to survive and that means that you have to adapt." Caroline explained slowly and she unconsciously tightened her grip around the wheel, making her knuckles white.
"I'm guessing we're moving into the 'do-not-discuss-for-now pile' again." Stefan commented with a low voice as if he was afraid to agitate her further and placed a hand over hers to make her relax, stopping her from crushing the steering wheel. All Caroline did was nod and an eerie silence fell over the car.
"So how come you don't snarl Damon's name anymore?" Stefan then asked Elena after a couple of minutes and the tension in the car shifted into a slightly more awkward one as a bright smile slowly spread on Elena's lips.
"Klaus' compulsion stopped working when I turned off my emotions and for some reason it was gone when Caroline made me turn them back on." Elena said and there was an unmistakable happiness behind her words.
"So you don't hate Damon anymore?" Bonnie asked and was just as surprised as Caroline and Stefan.
"Nope." Elena laughed and Caroline noticed how a small smile appeared on Stefan's lip and she sent him a questioning look that he didn't answer.
"So what now?" Bonnie inquired and her smile fell as soon as she heard Elena's answer.
"I'm going to find him of course." Elena said with an enthusiasm they hadn't heard for the past eight hours of their road trip.
"You can't do that, Elena! Klaus will kill you!" Bonnie exclaimed worryingly and Caroline looked at Stefan for conformation of Bonnie's words, but was only met by the Stefan Salvatore frown.
"He didn't kill me the last time!" Elena reasoned but the uncertainty in her voice was clear.
"Probably because you hated Damon with a burning passion the last time!" Bonnie almost yelled back and the cheerfulness slowly left Elena's eyes.
"I know. That's why I'm kind of counting on Caroline." Elena sighed and met the blonde's eyes in the mirror.
"Wait, what?" Caroline asked confusingly and looked at the others, who all seemed to know what Elena was talking about.
"Klaus would never let Damon go for me and maybe not even for Stefan, but you…" Elena slowly explained, but trailed off when she saw the shocked expression on Caroline's face.
"Are you seriously asking me to seduce a man you hate just so you can be with the man you love?!" Caroline asked incredulously and Elena opened and closed her mouth several times before she finally managed to answer.
"Okay, it sounds kind of wrong when you put it that way." Elena admitted and didn't meet Caroline's offended stare.
"You think?!" Caroline exclaimed and started tapping the steering wheel in an attempt to ease her temper. "I get that Klaus has feelings for me or something, but I'm not just some blonde distraction you can use whenever you feel like it."
"Wait, why did you all look at each other like that?" Caroline asked suspiciously, when she noticed the quick glances that were exchanged between her friends.
"Like what?" Stefan asked innocently and Caroline's eyes narrowed as she looked at him.
"Like something has happened that you don't want me to know about."
"Nothing has happened." Stefan assured her, but her suspicions didn't disappear. Caroline pondered for a moment whether she should just find out herself, but she wasn't actually sure that she wanted to know, so instead she let it go with a deep exhale.
"Look, I've already tried talking to Klaus about Damon, but he got all 'I can do whatever the hell I want' about it so I had to let it go for now. But I will do everything I can to save Damon for the both of you." Caroline told them tiredly and pointed between Stefan and Elena, who both offered her a smile. "And when I say everything, I don't mean everything. I'm not sleeping with Klaus just so you can have your boyfriend back."
"No one was going to ask you to sleep with him." Elena said disturbingly, but Caroline just glared at her.
"Caroline?" Stefan suddenly interrupted, making her shift her gaze to him. "Please tell me that we are not going to Disney World."
Caroline looked out of the windshield just in time to see a large billboard suggesting a trip to Disney World in Orlando and a wicked grin spread on Caroline's lips as she kept quiet and watched Stefan's eyes grow wider in horror.
"Relax, Grumpy. We're going to see Matt. He went to college and opened a bar here like a year ago." Caroline laughed and she saw Stefan relax noticeably.
"What about-" Bonnie started questioningly but didn't seem to be able to finish the sentence.
"Jeremy? Hopefully he is here as well." Caroline finished and sent Bonnie an empathetic smile. It couldn't be easy seeing your ex-boyfriend after five years of being dead and Caroline wondered if Jeremy even knew that Bonnie was alive again. Hopefully she hadn't been too busy with Kol and the witches to tell him.
"When was the last time you visited Matt?" Stefan asked and Caroline took a moment to recall her last trip to Orlando.
"A couple of years ago. I helped him raise some money so he could buy a bar near campus that was falling apart and might have convinced the campus newspaper to write a flattering article about it." Caroline told them with a sly smile on her lips.
"Matt never told me you came by." Elena said with a confused expression on her face and Caroline's smile grew a little wider.
"Well, he never really saw my face or knew I did those things for him. He thought I was a girl from campus, who really cared about keeping that hole in the ground of a bar open. I almost laughed when he told me I reminded him of an old friend from back home. So as far as Matt knows he hasn't seen me since that day we compelled him to leave town and go to college in Orlando." Caroline informed and couldn't help but feel a little sad as she thought about the day they had driven him out of Mystic Falls by force.
"So we are going to see Matt and Jeremy, who is apparently with him." Stefan stated questioningly and received a bright smile from both Elena and Caroline. "And what then?"
"What do you mean about what then? We're going to get really, really drunk of course!" Caroline exclaimed and laughed when she heard Bonnie's complaints.
"I hate drinking with you guys! You can empty a whole bar and barely feel anything."
"You have Matt and Jeremy on your side!" Caroline encouraged but it only seemed to make it worse.
"Who are both college boys and work in a bar!"
"Don't you worry, Bonnie Bennett. I'll carry you if needed." Caroline told her and winked at her friend, who couldn't stop herself from laughing lightly.
"Do they even know that we're coming?" Stefan asked warily and reached for his phone in his jacket.
"Nope! And that what makes it fun." Caroline replied and sent him a warning glance, telling him not to text Matt or Jeremy.
Only fifteen minutes later Caroline parked the car near a loud bar in a busy street and marched into the bar, pushing past the crowd on the floor to reach the bartender, who had her hands full with servicing the many guests. It was almost eleven o'clock, but there were surprisingly many people considering it was a school night and most of the guests were college students.
"I'm here to see your boss." Caroline yelled to the bartender, who was a woman in her mid-twenties with a pixie haircut and a set of green dove eyes that could match Elena's.
"He's busy." the bartender yelled back without looking up from the beer she was pouring for another customer.
"I want to file a complaint." Caroline told her as her friends finally caught up with her and the bartender – her name tag said Tammy – finally looked at Caroline.
"About what?" Tammy asked warily as she eyed Caroline and her friends.
"Just tell me where your boss is." Caroline said as she leaned over the counter and compelled the girl.
"I said he is busy." Tammy retorted through her teeth and Caroline couldn't help but smile as she realized Matt probably made sure his employees were on vervain.
"Elena?" a familiar voice suddenly asked and they all – including Tammy – turned their heads to see the person with the deep voice.
"Jeremy." Elena breathed and in a matter of seconds she had pushed past a couple kissing by the bar and jumped into the arms of her little brother, who technically both looked and was older than her now.
"See? We know Jeremy, so go find Matt. Now." Caroline said as she turned her attention back to Tammy, who stared defiantly back.
"The same old Caroline, huh?" A person laughed beside her and Caroline whipped her head around to meet a pair of clear blue eyes staring back at her.
"Matt!" Caroline yelled excitedly and threw her hands around his neck, almost making him fall to the floor.
"Bonnie. Oh my God." Matt then said as he saw Bonnie over Caroline's shoulder and she quickly let go of him so he could hug her.
"Jeremy told me that you had come back. Why didn't you come here earlier?" Matt asked Bonnie with a thick voice as he hugged her tightly and Caroline noticed the guilty expression on the witch's face.
"I know, I should have come before, but I've busy with all sorts of witchy stuff." Bonnie explained as she moved away from Matt, only to be crushed into Jeremy's arms. "Hey, Jer."
"Caroline? You're back?" Jeremy asked disbelievingly, when he saw her standing behind Bonnie and Matt.
"Yup." Caroline replied with a wide smile and was surprised to receive a hug from Jeremy as well. It was incredible to watch how both Matt and Jeremy had become older, while the rest of them still looked seventeen/eighteen. They hadn't changed much, but it was small things like a new tiny wrinkle or the look in their eyes.
"Where have you been for five years?!" Matt exclaimed as he hugged her once more, but instead of answering she told Tammy to get them two bottles of tequila and two bottles of scotch, which Matt quickly confirmed was okay.
"It's a long story and I will tell it after you two have told me what you've been up to." Caroline said and pointed at Jeremy and Matt, who was in process of greeting Stefan as well.
"And after half of this is empty." Caroline continued and pointed to one of the tequila bottles, making her friends laugh.
The next hour was spent on Matt and Jeremy telling about college life – the latter of them still attending – and soon more than half of the tequila bottle was gone, making Bonnie looking a little cross-eyed.
"So what's up with the name of this place?" Stefan asked Matt as he poured himself another glass of scotch. Jeremy seemed deep in conversation with his sister and Bonnie was apparently shuffling between conversations, while Caroline and Stefan sat on either side of Matt with curious expressions on their faces.
"You mean 'Vervained'? Rebekah came up with it and I thought it was kind of funny with all the… you know." Matt explained casually as he gestured towards Caroline and Stefan gave him a nod of approval.
"Wow, hold up. 'Vervained'? Really? Isn't that a little too obvious?" Caroline asked pointedly and received an eye roll from Matt that didn't seem to be about what she had said. "And Rebekah? We're not talking about the Rebekah that tried to kill me earlier today, are we?"
"Rebekah wouldn't kill you." Stefan said and received a glare from Caroline, leaving a confused Matt to look between them.
"You weren't there." Caroline retorted and crossed her arms in front of her.
"Wait, Rebekah did what?!" Matt asked indignantly and interrupted his friends' stare-off.
"Doesn't matter." Caroline quickly said as she shook her head to move on. "But how do you know Rebekah? I mean, I get the whole family visited Mystic Falls, but why are you still talking to her?"
"What do you mean? What does she mean?" Matt inquired as he looked to Caroline and then Stefan, who just shrugged at him with an amused smile on his lips. "You know how I know her. She had this weird crush on me and we went travelling over the summer. We're just friends now."
"Wait, so both of you…?" Caroline said hesitantly as she pointed between Matt and Stefan, reaching for another shot of tequila at the same time.
"I have an idea." Stefan stated with an open hand gesture that brought everyone's attention to him. "Let's not talk about who has slept with who. Instead I think Caroline should tell what she has been doing for the past five years."
"Fine, I will. But first: more tequila."
"So you don't remember meeting anyone of the Originals?" Jeremy asked twenty minutes later, when Caroline's story had finally reached present day.
"Or Silas. But he doesn't really seem like the type I want to remember anyway." Caroline shrugged and met the disbelieving stares from Matt and Jeremy.
"And what did Klaus have to say about that?" Matt asked curiously, but Caroline could hear the laughter in his voice.
"Let's just say that we were all a bit surprised." Caroline told them sternly in an attempt to move away from the topic. As curious as she was, she wasn't really in the mood to be talking about the Original hybrid and especially not when her friends probably were dying to tell her about all the things she wanted to hear from his mouth.
"Is he still hopelessly devoted to you?" Matt continued with a wide grin on his face that made Caroline flick his arm, bruising him badly and making him squirm in pain.
"New rule! No more Klaus-talk tonight! Tonight we are young and we're going to get really drunk and have some fun. The age limit tonight is like a hundred and sixty or something, so no Originals, okay?" Caroline ordered and they all saluted her with a laugh before drinking the shot of tequila Caroline put in front of them.
The bar slowly emptied out around them as they kept drinking and getting louder and at some point Matt sent all of his staff home; prompting Caroline to dance on the bar with a very drunk Bonnie. Caroline felt how her mind slowly was getting buzzed and when the clock suddenly read 3 AM; she was properly drunk.
"Tonight we are young. So let's set the world on fire! We can burn brighter than the sun." Caroline sang along Elena at the top of her lungs and she registered with a laugh how liberated her friend seemed at that moment. Her attention left Elena as quickly as it had found her, when she suddenly heard Stefan's phone ring and she was by him in a second as soon as she heard the name of the caller.
"Nik! Hello! We were just talking about you! Well, Caroline was." Stefan told his friend with a smirk directed at Caroline and she realized he was at least as drunk as herself. Before he could protest she had snatched the phone from his hand and moved out of his reach.
"Klaus, hi. What's up?" Caroline greeted and she felt herself grow slightly nervous despite her drunken state.
"Caroline." Klaus breathed on the other end and Caroline wondered if she would ever get used to the way the way her name rolled off his tongue. "Don't get me wrong, but could you give Stefan his phone back?"
"He's lying!" Caroline blurted out, making her want to bite of her own tongue the moment after. "I mean, he's busy right now. With talking… to Bonnie!"
"Are you drunk?" Klaus asked and Caroline wasn't sure if he was more amused or impatient.
"No." Caroline replied, drawing out the word longer than necessary before she paused to rethink her answer. "Maybe a little bit. There was a lot of tequila."
"Not that I don't enjoy talking to you, love, but I really need you to let me speak to Stefan."
"Why? What's happened?" Caroline asked alarmingly, ignoring Klaus' requests.
"Nothing you need to worry about, Caroline." Klaus sighed and he was definitely getting impatient now.
"Tell me." Caroline ordered as she felt her mind sober up quickly and she looked at Stefan, who was suddenly standing in front of her with a worried expression on his face. "Stefan's here. He'll hear it."
"Camille is missing." Klaus finally said after a long moment of contemplation.
"Missing? As in kidnapped?" Caroline exclaimed and Stefan's eyes widened in shock. "Who took her?"
"I wouldn't be calling if I knew, sweetheart." Klaus growled back and Caroline could hear him take deep breaths on the other end. "Which is why I need Stefan to come back here as fast as possible."
"Got it! We're on our way!" Caroline exclaimed and watched as Stefan turned to the others to explain the new situation.
"You should stay in Orlando with your friends, love. We'll take care of things here." Klaus told her and Caroline could hear the command behind his words that only made her more defiant.
"We'll be there in about seven hours if we drive really fast. See you." Caroline told him determinedly and hung up the phone before he could protest again.
And now we're also hanging up on Klaus Mikaelson. Great, just great.
Happy new year! Hope you've had a great year and 2015 will be amazing!