Edited by myladyelise.
Re-edited 8/31/15
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Klaus prowled into The Grill and grimaced at the smell of old fried food and cheap beer. Heightening his vampire senses, he searched the dark room. Within a minute he sized up in meticulous detail his surrounding and the people within. There were three exits, one through the kitchen, the front door and a fire and emergency exit along the right wall. Even this early in the afternoon the bar was filled with patrons, most of whom were human, except for a few of his hybrids and the vampire who sat at the bar smoothly tossing back bourbon. Several of his hybrid servants playing pool turned their heads to look at him, awaiting his orders. Klaus shook his head, signaling for them to stay put. He was visiting The Grill for one purpose, to speak Damon. The worst kind of an ordinary, pesky housefly. Except this fly was blessed with supremely good luck and always managed to avoid getting swatted.
Klaus joined Damon at the bar, ignoring the clean-cut young men sitting on either side of the vampire. Klaus would have thought himself invisible except for the tightening of every one of Damon's muscles. The vampire was ready to attack at a moments notice.
"Funny. It looks like there isn't a spot for you to sit. I would take that as a hint and move somewhere else," Damon drawled, tipping back his glass to take another drink.
With a graceful twist of his wrist, Klaus snapped his fingers. The two men next to Damon rose to their feet and stepped away from their bar stools.
"Sire?" One of them asked, lowering his head in respect.
"Enjoy your drinks elsewhere."
Simultaneously they picked up their glasses and moved to an empty booth close by. Taking a seat, they kept their eyes trained on their master.
Klaus settled himself next to Damon and signaled for the bartender, taking a quick glance at her nametag. "Kathy is it? Kathy, sweetheart, give me what he's having."
The young, blonde bartender dressed in jeans and a pink halter giggled and with a smile reached for a bottle of bourbon from one of the top shelves.
Damon drained the rest of his drink, tapping the top of the glass for it to be refilled. "I'm honored you find me worthy of not just one, but hybrid lackeys to keep me company."
"Your wellbeing is most important to me."
"Don't tell me you care?" Damon mocked, holding his hand over his heart.
Kathy set a glass in front of Klaus, filling it and Damon's.
"Me?" Klaus took a sip of the bourbon, the sour taste of bad bourbon burning his stomach. He set his glass back down on the bar. "Not in the least. However, there are others around who seem to care quite a deal about you. To my disgust, I have even been forced to agree to leaving you unharmed…at least for now."
"I'm touched, really." Damon smirked "I have a feeling those hybrids are more threat than protection."
Klaus grinned widely, baring his teeth "What makes you say that?"
"Because you know," Damon paused to point at him, "and I know… I want to kill you?"
"Do you really think you can?" Klaus took another drink, trying not to choke at the poor excuse for bourbon he was drinking. It was a young brew and it tasted watered down as well. Leaning in towards Damon like he shared a great confidence, he lowered his voice to a dangerous purr. "In over a thousand years others more powerful and older than you have said the same thing and I have vanquished them all one by one. Take my advice and give up. You will not win."
"Listen," Damon barked, grabbing Klaus' arm. "I don't know what kind of deal you have struck with Elena. She is not allowed to bargain herself for my safety."
An inferno of white, hot rage blazed to life in Klaus' chest. He clenched his fists to keep his anger in check. "Get your hand off me before I use it to tie bows of your intestines."
Damon scowled, clearly weighing his options. With great exaggeration he release Klaus' arm. "Whatever contract Elena made for my protection is now null and void. Do you understand. I won't have her risking herself for me."
"This has nothing to do with Elena," Klaus said, his voice tight. It really was ridiculous. The Salvatore was so lovesick over his doppelgänger he didn't even fear for his own safety.
"Then what the hell is this about?"
"Your good luck." A muscle twitched in Klaus's jaw. He wanted to tear the younger vampire from limb to limb. "I need you to understand how much of your life depends on the good opinion of one person. Someone whose kindness and mercy you have continuously taken advantage of. It is only due to her intervention you are still walking the streets of unharmed."
Damon lifted his glass, peering into the amber depths "And just who is it I owe my continued existence too? The very least I could do is buy them a drink."
"You owe her much more than a drink," Klaus snarled. "For what you have done to her I would deliver you to her in boxes wrapped up prettily with your skin."
"Awful bloody gift." Damon waved his glass of scotch in the air, the liquid sloshing over the edge of the glass to dribble on the bar. "So who is this mysterious benefactor? It wouldn't happen to be a certain blonde you have been sniffing around? Because Caroline would never make a deal like that for my life."
"I should rip your tongue out for even saying her name. You aren't worthy of even that honor," Klaus growled low in his throat. "Still, for some reason she sees value in your pathetic, pitiful life."
Damon drained the scotch that remained in his glass. "She would."
"Caroline has an incredible capacity for forgiveness for those she believes are her friends."
"Well you can forget any understanding you have with her. I won't have her sacrificing herself for me." Damon leaned back on his barstool, opening his arms wide. "If you want to kill me go ahead and try. Give it your best shot."
Klaus glowered at his drink to keep from shoving it right through Damon's skull. "Believe me, there is nothing I wish for more than your death, but that would hurt you. Something that goes against my bargain with Caroline."
"Hurt me? Well, if that is the case I believe you are hurting me now with your presence and that surely must void your contract. Caroline is free," Damon said with a laugh.
Putting his arm around Damon, Klaus drew him close as if they were two good friends. Then snaking his other arm around the front of the vampire's torso he jammed his fist right into Damon's chest. The crunching sound of bone shattering and flesh torn was easily covered by the eighties song blaring from the radio. Damon slumped like a ragdoll in Klaus's arms, all color draining from his face. A small trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his lips.
"You're drooling and while in polite company," Klaus chided with a small shake of his head. "Such bad manners. Clean yourself up."
Damon attempted feebly to wipe the blood from his mouth.
"So, tell me…am I hurting you?"
"Yes," the vampire gasped.
Klaus squeezed Damon's heart tighter, relishing the wet squish of the organ in his hand. "I ask you again, am I hurting you?"
A strangled sound escaped Damon's mouth and Klaus squeezed more.
"No," Damon managed to gurgle, swallowing back the blood that filled his mouth.
"No, what?" Klaus asked in a singsong voice.
Damon's body shuddered around Klaus's fist. "No, you aren't hurting me."
"That's what I thought." Pulling his fist from Damon's chest with a sucking sound, he wiped his hand on the vampire's shirt. "Be sure to tell Caroline that if she asks you about this meeting. Spin it however you want. Because if you think this was hurting you, you have no idea of the pain I could inflict on you."
Breathing in deep, hard breaths of air, Damon covered his open wound with his hand. Already it was closing. "You need to leave Caroline alone."
"That isn't going to happen." Klaus pulled a white linen handkerchief from his pocket, meticulously removing the remaining blood from his fingers.
"Elena…once she finds out, will never allow Caroline to make a deal for my life."
"I believe that choice is up to Caroline and it's far too late now."
Damon yanked his leather jacket tighter over his chest, zipping it to cover the bloody hole in his shirt. "What do you mean it is too late? What have you done to Caroline?"
"Nothing like what you did to her, if that is what you meant." Klaus tried not to think of Caroline bloodied and scared at the hands of Damon. Anger thrummed in his ears, his vision darkenening and he fought to remain calm. "If I wasn't so honorable I would forget my pact with Caroline and visit on you the same treatment you gave her."
Damon stared at his empty glass, not even picking up on how his life hung by a thread. A thread Klaus wished to violently snap.
"Caroline knows — things are different now."
Klaus leaned forward, barely hearing the vampire's whisper. "Is that an apology I am hearing? Unfortunately, it is too late and to the wrong person. Your little circle may have forgotten what you did to Caroline, but she never will and neither will I."
Damon swallowed like a parched man in a desert and tapped his glass for the bartender to refill. "Caroline understands she was a necessary means to an end."
"So, she was a pawn?" The world turned black and bloodlust roared in Klaus' head. He wanted to claw this upstart vampire to shreds, paint the room with his bloodied organs. His hands curled around the edge of the bar, the wood warping and tearing in his grip. "You will never touch her again, cause her any pain or even look in her direction."
His hybrids stood up from the booth approaching at the snarl in his voice, the splinters of wood floating to the ground.
Kathy wandered back over with the bottle of bourbon. "Can I top you off?" She batted her lashes at Klaus and finished filling Damon's glass.
Klaus took a deep breath, forcing his searing fury into his stomach where it pitched and boiled. "No, I am just about finished here." Klaus smiled at her until she walked away. Turning his head, he stared directly into Damon's eyes. "Stay away from her or face the consequences. Trust me that they will not be pleasant."
Damon looked away from Klaus, gazing once more into his drink. "Whatever you have planned for her, she is too smart for it. She isn't some silly schoolgirl you can trick into caring for you."
"I don't need to trick her into anything. You have no idea of the ties that bind us or the connection we share."
"Connection to a baby vampire? You must be joking."
"Try me." Klaus scowled at the hardly veiled disrespect in Damon's voice.
"We won't let you have her. You understand?"
Klaus laid his hand heavily on Damon's back, leaning in to murmur in his ear. "You can't stop me. She is already mine."
Without a backward glance, Klaus headed towards the door. Damon's heavy gaze on him, burned a whole in his back but he didn't care enough to turn around. He accomplished what he had come for. Damon received his warning and now Klaus could justify hurting, even killing him if ever he overstepped himself and bothered Caroline in any way.
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Caroline held back a sigh. She couldn't believe she allowed Elena to drag her to the shopping district of Mystic Fall. The last thing she wanted to do was be a part of her friends idea to shop away their troubles. What Caroline really needed to do was think and try to process everything that had happened on her date with Klaus. Then again, maybe Elena did have the right idea after all and what she did need to do was to avoid the whole topic. And, seriously, nothing good could come of dwelling on her mixed emotions about Klaus.
"What do you think of that dress?" Elena asked, pointing to a low cut silky red gown hanging off a headless mannequin.
Caroline peered into the display window in front of one of Mystic Fall's premiere dress stores. "It is a little skimpy, don't you think?"
"I was going to suggest that it was perfect for you. You should try it on. I am sure Tyler would love to see you in that," Elena teased.
"Maybe." Caroline swallowed back the lump in her throat at though thought of her boyfriend.
Elena put an arm around her, pulling Caroline into a hug. "Have you heard from Tyler?"
"No." Caroline leaned into her friend's comforting embrace. "I hoped I would when my dad died. He probably doesn't even know…"
"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how much you must miss having him around. You two got really close before he left."
Caroline shook off her sadness. Her moping completely defeated the purpose of the fun-shopping trip Elena planned. "It is okay. Really. He is doing what he needs to do and I support him."
"I know…but still."
"Forget about it" Caroline pointed to the emerald dress another headless mannequin sported. "What do you think of the green mini dress? It would look perfect on you."
"It is a little short for prom."
Shock blasted into Caroline and she nearly slapped herself for forgetting. "I totally forgot prom was coming up. Yhat's why you wanted to go shopping."
Elena shook Caroline. "Do you have a fever? Are you sick? How could you forget about prom? You are like the total queen of planning this stuff."
"I don't know," Caroline gave her friend a weak smile. How could she have forgotten? Oh, right. Dealing with Klaus completely tore her world asunder. How could she focus on school and prom when he was everywhere? When she closed her eyes all she could see was his confident smirk, his penetrating blue eyes, and the way they sparked with fire right before he kissed her.
"Well, let's work on getting you a dress so you have one task out of the way."
"That sounds like a good idea. Although, I am not sure I want to shop here. The prices are always so crazy high."
"Let's just look," Elena coaxed. "They have good sales."
Caroline was tempted to argue. This place rarely had sales and was known for their overpriced designer clothing. Living off her mom's sheriff salary she had never been able to afford anything there. Not willing to keep Elena from finding her dream gown she moved to open the door. Her hand was halfway to the handle when a rush of pleasure sent tingled up her spine. Klaus was behind her.
"Caroline," he purred her name like an invitation to sin. "What a pleasure to find you here."
"Klaus," Elena breathed.
Caroline turned to find Klaus a foot away, his gaze fixed entirely on her.
"What do you want?" Her voice bordered on insulting. "Don't you need to be wreaking havoc and chaos somewhere?"
Klaus's lips curled into a hint of a smirk. "I reached my quota for the day."
Caroline laid a hand on her friend, her protective instincts towards Elena roused. "Are you checking up on Elena? She is perfectly safe with me."
"I have no worries on that account." Klaus regarded Elena with obvious distaste. "I know you will put my doppelgängers safety over your own."
"Always." Caroline glared at him.
Klaus took a step closer to her and she almost stepped backwards into the door.
"Do you think such loyalty will ever be rightfully rewarded? Or will it be taken advantage of?"
Elena glanced warily from Klaus to Caroline.
"That's the thing about friendships, you don't go into them expecting to be rewarded. Of course, that is not something you would understand," Caroline threw at Klaus.
Elena blanched at Caroline's outburst. "We should really get busy with our dress shopping."
"So what are you shopping for?" Klaus asked.
At he genuine interest in his voice, Elena turned to gape at him, before speaking, "Prom dresses."
"Who is to be the big date for the night, Caroline?"
His lazy drawl, belied the intensity in his voice.
Refusing to look at Klaus, she nevertheless sensed his dare to converse with him like friends. Her only tactic was to stay silent and hope he would get the hint and leave.
Disappointed at her lack of response, Klaus turned to Elena. "Which brother is it to be? The earnest and mopey, Stefan or the wild and reckless bad boy, Damon."
Elena awkwardly shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her face wrinkled with tortured angst.
"Her love life isn't any of your business," Caroline retorted, at last lifting her gaze to Klaus'. "As long as produces blood, why does it matter?"
"It doesn't," Klaus acknowledged. "Tyler is to be your date then, sweetheart?"
Klaus's boldly stared at her, his eyes dark and murky. The air shifted around her, becoming heavily charged with some indefinable emotion. Did he know Tyler couldn't come to prom? Buried somewhere in the mountains fighting the Sire bond, her boyfriend probably didn't even remember prom was coming up. Was that why he asked? She needed to protect Tyler.
"Tyler's not interested in going so Elena and I are going stag." Caroline shot a warning glance towards her friend. Elena caught on at once, nodding her head in agreement.
A pleased grin tugged at Klaus's mouth. "Trouble in paradise with my hybrid servant? It doesn't surprise me. He is nothing more than a small town boy with a small town life. No, you need someone older, more experienced with what life has to offer."
The look of shock on Elena's face at Klaus's declaration made her want to slap him. Right her in the middle of the town. Here she was trying to keep his interest in her a secret and he was practically broadcasting it from the street corner. She grabbed Elena's hand, pulling her stunned friend towards the door. "We really need to get busy if we are going to find a dress today. So if you will just be on your way…"
Klaus bowed his head slightly, his eyes never leaving Caroline's. "Of course. If I might make a suggestion, love, you look stunning in blue."
Caroline was definitely not wearing blue now. Yanking the store door open, she guided her speechless friend inside the shop. Not even sparing a backwards glance at Klaus.
Once safe inside the dress store, Elena turned to her. "What on earth was that about?"
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked with an innocent tone.
Elena gave her one of her stubborn looks, the one that always made Caroline spill. "Don't pull that with me. What is with Klaus and all that non-evil-Klaus talk? I swear he was trying to be friendly with us. With you, especially."
"Probably fed on a nun today and was poisoned with niceness." Caroline retorted.
"Caroline!" Elena giggled. "But really, he was acting strange. Did something happen with him that I don't know about? You know how Damon and Stefan keep me in the dark. I hate when they do that."
"I do too. You would think they would trust you…us enough by now to include us in their schemes." Guilt flooded Caroline's stomach. She was doing the same thing to her friend. But really, Elena could be so foolish sometimes that she needed to be protected. Caroline moved towards a row of gowns hung on a circular rack, running her fingers through the silky fabrics. Pulling one out, she held it up. "This would look great on you."
Elena cocked her head to the side, a warning look in her eyes. "Don't try and change the subject. What is going on with you and Klaus?"
Caroline shrugged her shoulders, trying not to feel bad at how she was going to lie to her friend. "I haven't got a clue."
"It just doesn't make any sense."
"Well, that's Klaus for you. Just your friendly, insane neighborhood vampire hybrid."
Elena stared hard at her, sighing at Caroline's lack of a response. Giving up she crossed the room to stand in front of the dresses on the rack. Pulling out one, she fingered the decorative beadwork on the bodice. "Be careful and avoid him. I don't like this change in his attitude one bit."
Caroline bit her tongue. She wasn't about to tell Elena that there was no way to avoid Klaus or that she had another date with him scheduled for tomorrow after school. "Sure." Picking out a slinky green chiffon gown she handed it to Elena. "Try this. It would really bring out your eyes."
Elena carried it over to the mirror. "You're right. I kind of like it. I think I will try it on."
At hearing those magic words, one of the store shop girls, an emaciated brunette in a tailored black sheath rushed over to help. Soon Elena had accumulated an entire pile of dresses of all the colors of the rainbow to try on. Caroline continued to rifle through the racks, glancing at the price tags of the ones that caught her eye and grimacing at the cost. Catching sight of a white dress from among the colored gowns she pulled it out from the rack and the skirt billowed to the ground. It was a beautiful dress, elegant in its simplicity. It had a plain silk, strapless bodice, but the full skirt was made of tulle and sprinkled throughout were hundreds of crystals that sparkled, capturing the light from the store and creating rainbows of light on the shop walls. Caroline held her breath and held the dress up to her slender form. It looked like it would fit perfectly.
"Oh, Caroline. That dress is beautiful," Elena cooed.
The brunette shop girl rushed over to take the dress from Caroline. "You have to try it on. It looks as if it were made for you."
"I don't know. Caroline knew she probably couldn't afford it and if it fit, it would only break her heart.
"You have to." Elena pulled Caroline through the French doors to the lighted, dusty pink colored dressing room. In the corner, there was already a huge rack of gowns waiting for Elena to try on. The sales girl hung the white ball gown on a brass hook by the mirror.
"It is a custom made dress by a new and upcoming designer. I think you will be impressed by the quality of his work." The salesgirl lifted the skirt of the dress up to examine it. "You will notice that each one of these crystals was hand sewn for the most effective placement to catch the light."
Caroline ran her fingers over the gown lightly. "I can tell. It's beautiful."
"Go ahead, try it on," the shop girl encouraged.
Undressing to a matching green lace matching bra and panties set, Caroline stood patiently while the dress was lifted over her head. With a soft swish, the silk and tulle gown settled perfectly over her hips. The zipper rasping closed until the bodice tightened around her small waist. Caroline was right. The dress fitted perfectly. She stepped in front of the three-way mirror, admiring the gown from every angle. The sparkles from the crystals floated among the tulle ballroom skirt like stars when she spun around, the dress floating around her ankles.
"You have to get it," Elena said. "It is like it was made for you."
"If is not too much?" Caroline smoothed the skirt back into place.
Elena stepped forward, putting her arm around Caroline's waist. "I can't imagine a more perfect dress for prom. You will look like a fairy princess, which is entirely in keeping with the whole Enchanted Fairytale theme you picked last year."
"I forgot that." Caroline laid her head on Elena's shoulder. "That was back when I still believed in fairytales. Before I knew what the darkness really hides."
"Don't you ever stop believing in those fairytales," Elena scolded. "If you give up on those, what hope do the rest of us have? No, you have your Prince Charming and maybe if you are lucky he will make it back for prom."
Caroline cleared her mind, picturing herself entering the school gym, her white dress swishing around her heels to find Tyler waiting for her. Instead of dark brown eyes, she saw deep blue ones instead. Her stomach tightened, tears surging into her throat. "You're right. I have the perfect prince in Tyler." She focused once more on the brown eyes. "So what about your Prince Charming?"
Elena ducked her head, a shy look on her face. "I want to ask Stefan, but he still is torturing himself about what he did. I keep hoping he will realize he wasn't himself and not responsible, but he seems determined to punish me and himself."
"And Damon?"
"Damon is Damon," Elena said harshly like that explained everything. "So what do you think of this dress?" She pulled away from Caroline to twirl around.
The purple dress Elena wore was dark as an early evening starry sky and the bodice sparkled with black beading. Her friend looked dangerous, exotic even. Completely at odds with the previous prom and the pink poufy gown Elena wore then. Her friend had changed. Pink, innocent, girly dresses no longer fit her. They had both been through so much. "You look stunning."
"I think I will have to get it." Elena lifted her hair off her neck. "Unzip me?"
"Sure." Caroline carefully unzipped the dress and waited for Elena to return the favor Up until now she avoided looking at the price tag on her dress. She wanted to have it, even if it was out of her budget. She deserved something so pretty and perfect after everything she went through. The dress would be perfect comfort when at the prom Tyler wasn't there to dance with her.
Caroline handed the dress over to the sales clerk and taking a chance she glanced at the tag. She bit back a gasp. 2400 hundred dollar. While she had an emergency credit card with a four thousand dollar limit, she never used it before. She would just have to consider her happiness an emergency. It would take her forever to pay it off and her mother would probably freak out but her happiness was at stake.
"Will you be taking the dress then?" The shop girl asked with a bright, white smile.
"Of course she will," Elena called out as she worked on getting her dress off.
"I don't have a choice." Happiness surged inside her at owning something so beautiful, so perfect and she clapped her hands together. "Are you going to get your dress?"
Elena stepped out of her dress and hung it back up on the hanger. "I think I will. I can't imagine I will find something better."
"Perfect," the sales girl said a little too cheerily. "I will go ring these up for you up front."
Caroline dressed feeling a little let letdown when she put her jeans and her green button down shirt back on. She felt so pretty in the dress she almost wanted to wear it out the store. Grabbing her purse, she waited for her friend to get dressed. Elena's phone rang from within her purse and her friend sighed with annoyance and reached for it.
"I have to take this. It's Damon calling to check on me and if I don't answer he will hunt me down," Elena said with a huff.
"Go ahead. I'll be out front."
Making her way to the front of the store, Caroline stood at the counter while the shop clerk hung a garment bag over the sparking white gown. Finished with her task, the brunette rang up the price tag.
"How will you be paying today?" t
Caroline deftly removed her credit card from her wallet and handed it over.
The store clerk glanced at her card one time and then a second, her brow furrowing. "Miss Forbes, the dress has already been paid for."
"Wait? What?"
"The dress has been paid for," the clerk answered. "Can I interest you in any other purchases today?"
"I don't understand? What is going on?"
The shop girl leaned over the counter. "There was an account opened in your name yesterday and all purchases you choose to make are to be covered."
Caroline shoved her card back at the clerk. "I think there must be a mistake. I never opened any account."
"It was a nice, young man. Very handsome, too. With such a foreign name," the shop girl said, her voice dreamy. "He opened an account for a Miss Caroline Forbes with all purchases to be billed to him. I can't imagine having such a generous boyfriend. You are a very lucky girl."
"I don't think so. There will be no account and no purchases billed to anyone but me," Caroline's didn't bother to temper the shrillness in her voice.
The sales clerk shot her a disapproving look. "Well, that is no way to treat your boyfriend."
"He is not my boyfriend." Caroline slammed her credit card on the counter in emphasis. "And I will pay for this dress."
"Take my advice and accept the gift."
Elena strolled into the room, a slight frown on her face. "Is there a problem?"
"I was just explaining to Miss Forbes —"
"How much she thought I would love the dress," Caroline interrupted before the girl could continue. She couldn't have Elena finding out that Klaus was buying her clothes. Caroline would be forced to tell her everything and she didn't want to explain, let alone be interrogated about Klaus. "Are you ready to check out, Elena?"
"Um, sure."
Caroline forced a smile while Elena paid for her purchase. She hoped she hid from her friend her inner fury. When she saw Klaus she was going to take her dress and shove it down his throat. No, wait. Her dress didn't deserve such poor treatment. No, she would pull cash from her card and throw it at him. She wasn't going to be beholden to him for anything more than the dates she owed him.
"Caroline? Are you ready?"
She nodded and the sales clerk handed her the garment bag.
"Do come again, Miss Forbes," the sales clerk said with an eager tone.
"Will do," Caroline said through clenched teeth, vowing never to step in the store again.
They walked back to their cars and Elena paused, turning to her. "Thanks for doing this with me. We haven't shopped like this in forever and this was exactly what I needed."
Elena's sweet tone, sent tears into Caroline's eyes. It was a long time since they did the whole girly shopping thing. They really did need to do this more often.
"I had a great time and I think I needed it too." What Caroline wisely left out was that her wonderful time ended the minute Klaus once more interfered in her life. She was going to have to do something about that.
Waving goodbye to her friend, Caroline got into her car determined that the next time she saw Klaus she would make it very clear to him that she couldn't be bought, not even when the gift was another beautiful gown that made her feel like a princess.
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Caroline unlocked the door to her house, gently hanging her garment bag on a hook by the door. She made her way over to the kitchen and stopped. Her flesh prickled and tingled at the wrongness in the house. Someone was here.
"Your boyfriend came to see me today," a voice drawled from behind her.
Whirling around, heart surging into her throat, Caroline muscles tightened in preparation of an attack. Damon was sprawled out on the couch, his long, lean legs crossed with nonchalance. Anger screamed into her bloodstream and she took a calming breath. Damon would tell her nothing about Tyler if he sensed she could be toyed with.
"Tyler's back in town?"
Damon held up two fingers. "No, this would be boyfriend number two. You've been a very busy girl, Caroline."
Rage gave way to a gnawing fear. What had he found out about her and Klaus? She turned to walk back into the kitchen. Caroline needed a drink, to eat.
"I don't know what you are talking about."
Unfolding himself gracefully from the couch, Damon followed her into the kitchen. "I think you do. You've been hiding something from us, haven't you?"
"My life is my own business. Stay out of it." Caroline pulled a blood bag from the fridge.
"Anything that could affect Elena is my business."
Damon stepped towards Caroline, leaning in to take a long sniff at her.
Caroline swatted at him. "Ewwww. What are you doing?"
"You smell like him," Damon said, his voice flat.
Heat flared into Caroline's cheeks. "That isn't possible. I showered twice."
When she came home from her date with Klaus last night, she scrubbed away every touch, every caress he gave her. She used the soap and water to erase his hold on her. The exercise proved futile for her. She fell asleep to the memory of his kiss, the taste and touch of his lips on hers.
"It doesn't matter. I can smell that original, hybrid all over you." Damon focused his gaze on her, his eyes narrowing when she looked away. "What have you been up to?"
"Nothing." Caroline took a sip of the B positive blood from the blood bag in her hands, grateful for the distraction. She focused on the tangy, iron taste and the sensation of the thick drink running down her throat. With her hunger pains easing, courage flowed into her with each sip she took and better able to deal with Damon.
The vampire jumped up to seat himself on the kitchen counter. "You realize that he doesn't use blood bags or even Bambi to feed. He likes them pretty and living so he can drain away their life with every swallow."
Caroline shuddered and lowered the blood bag from her lips, setting it on the counter. "It isn't what you think."
"Then explain it to me." Damon flashed her a cruel smirk. "Tell me why you are spending time with the enemy? Have you so easily forgotten what he has done? That he steals your best friend's blood from her?"
"No," Caroline cried. "I haven't forgotten. How could I?"
"Then what the hell are you doing? With Tyler gone, if it was a good screwing you needed I would gladly have obliged. Just like old times."
Grabbing the nearest thing she could, which happened to be a wood napkin holder Caroline stabbed it into Damon's chest with all her strength. Paper napkins filled the air, floating to the ground like snow. "You are disgusting!"
The vampire blanched and easily pulled the wooden corner from his muscles. "So I have been told. It still doesn't explain why you are whoring yourself to Klaus."
"I am not whoring myself out. Don't you get it? I am doing this for Elena, for you."
"Why? I have given you no reason to martyr yourself for me." Damon frowned, a look of puzzlement in his eyes.
Caroline shook her head. Did he really not understand how much he meant to Elena? How destroyed her friend would be if anything happened to him? "Maybe not, but for some reason Elena sees goodness in you. If there is any, she would know."
"Trust me, there is none." Damon's mouth tightened, his eyes now steely.
"I don't believe that."
"Then you are just as foolish as Elena."
"Maybe I am, but I won't be held accountable for your death." Caroline knelt on the floor to pick up the napkins littering the linoleum.
"My life is not your responsibility," Damon snapped. "So what have you promised Klaus in return for my existence?"
Caroline paused in her collection of the white paper napkins. "Nothing important. It doesn't even matter."
"It matters to me." Damon jumped down from the counter, stalking over to her. "Have you welcomed him into your bed? Is that why I smell him all over you?"
"Of course not! How can you even think such a thing? I love Tyler."
"Really?" Damon's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Because from where I stand your motivations seem very questionable. If you loved him so much you wouldn't be spending time with his Sire. In case you have forgotten, Klaus was the one who made him a hybrid in the first place, forcing him to leave."
Rushing to her feet, Caroline shoved Damon in the chest, right into his healing wound. He fell backwards, sprawling into the cupboards.
"Of course, I haven't forgotten. How can I forget? I think of Tyler everyday and the horrible transitions he is going through to break the Sire bond."
"Ok. You haven't forgotten Tyler, then." Damon pulled himself up from the floor, steadying himself before adjusting his leather jacket over his chest. "Then what is Klaus getting out of this deal if you aren't sleeping with him?"
"Not everything is about sex."
Damon slowly blinked, his mouth curling into a sneer. "Don't be a fool, Caroline. That freaky hybrid thinks he has a connection with you and that doesn't mean romantic walks on the beach followed by sweet kisses in the back of his daddy's car."
Caroline opened her mouth to refute Damon. So far that is exactly what happened between Klaus and her. He was gentle and sweet with her and when he had kissed her…but she couldn't think of that now. Not with Damon staring at her like she was a specimen he studied under a microscope.
"Is that the game he is playing?" Damon snorted and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess you have to give the old creep credit. He knows exactly how to manipulate a high school girl."
"He is not manipulating me." Caroline shoved her hands over her hips. "I made a deal with him and I am following through. I have two dates left to give him and then it is over between us."
Damon threw back his head and laughed. "You have got to be kidding me. Klaus bargained my life for a couple of dates with you?"
Caroline bristled, fisting her hands to keep from slapping Damon. "What is so funny about that?"
"Who knew it was blonde, baby vamps that did it for him. He really is obsessed," he replied with a snicker.
"And just what would you bargain for a date with Elena? The two of you could start a support group for hopeless obsessions."
All traces of Damon's amusement vanished at her words. "I am not obsessed with Elena. I am looking out for her wellbeing."
Caroline rolled her eyes and leaned down to finish picking up the napkins on the floor. "Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."
Damon joined Caroline shoving a pile of napkins towards her. "So Klaus really is giving me a free pass because of a few dates with you?"
"Yes, and for that he is leaving us alone. All he asks is that I spend some time with him." Caroline scooped up the rest of the napkins.
"Any perverted kinky things? I bet a vampire that old has done some freaky stuff."
Caroline set the napkins back in their holder. "No, nothing like that. I think he is lonely. He just likes to talk." She very conveniently left out the intimacy of their talks, the little touches, the way they seemed to fit so perfectly together.
"About himself, I'm sure."
"That isn't something you wouldn't happen to understand, would it?"
"Nope." Damon gave her a sideways look. "You know, we could use this to our advantage. Any information you could uncover about him and his weaknesses would work in our favor."
"I…I don't know." She thought of their kiss, the hidden smiles he seemed to share only with her. Could she do that? Betray him after the magical date he gave her.
Damon placed his hands over his heart and fluttered his eyelashes like a schoolgirl. "You don't have feelings for him now, do you?"
"Me? Of course not." Caroline willed her cheeks not to redden at his accusation. "He is a murderer and as long as he lives he is a threat to Elena."
"Good," Damon said, his voice cold. "That will make it easier."
Caroline tucked her hair behind her ear, trying to ignore the thumping of her heart. "What is it you want me to do?"
"For now? Just spy on him and try and get information. He must have other weaknesses besides the stake from that white oak tree. Just pay attention to anything that would hurt him and keep Elena safe."
"How do you expect me to do that?" Caroline asked with a hitch in her breath. "I can't just come right out and ask him what would kill him."
Damon looked at her, his gaze keen. "You're a clever girl. You'll figure it out."
Caroline nodded in agreement. Ignoring how her betrayal of Klaus had her rational brain declarering war on her heart.
"I'll let myself out. I am sure I can remember the way." Damon gave her a cocky smile.
She ignored him. Her whole world crumbled around her. She was about to stab Klaus, the only person who had offered her a whole new world, in the back.
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Klaus stared in appreciation at the sketch of Caroline he worked on most of the day. She wore the gown from the other night, her face turned towards his. It was an image he imprinted in his mind to sketch later. They were dancing, his face near enough to hers to see the slight curve of her lips in a smile To his pleasure, he caught the softening in her eyes, the hint of lust that flickered there just before their kiss. It was an image he wanted to remember forever.
Rebekah stormed into the room and he looked up from his masterpiece, irritation shooting into him.
"Nik…One of your lame hybrids just accosted me in the hallway about you needing to talk to me. Really, if there is something on your mind, you could just walk across the hall or even text me," Rebekah complained, throwing herself into one of the leather chairs that adorned the room.
"Well, I need to give them something to do."
Rebekah peered at her nails, her brow furrowing at what appeared to be a chip in her red polish. "Next time find another way to deliver your message or you will find yourself lacking another hybrid."
"I wish you would refrain from taking your anger out on my poor servants. I am getting tired of having to make more every time they look at you the wrong way."
"Then teach them some manners," Rebekah snapped.
"Look, it's not easy to find decent ones. I don't have a big pool to draw from here in Mystic Falls, but I will work on it," Klaus sighed.
Surprised at his reaction, Rebekah stared at him suspicion gleaming in her eyes. "What exactly was it you wanted?"
"Nothing important except I was thinking maybe you could make yourself scarce tomorrow night."
Rebekah leaned forward in her chair. "And why would I do that?"
"Because I happen to be having an important meeting tomorrow and I think it best if you find somewhere else to be," Klaus cast a lingering glance over his sketch of Caroline.
"An important meeting?" Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Really Nik, everyone knows exactly what your meeting is about."
Klaus tucked the drawing of Caroline back into his sketchbook. "What would that be?"
Ignoring the hint of danger in his tone, Rebekah curled her legs under her getting more comfortable in her chair. "Your pursuit of Caroline. You want to spend time with her."
"What if I do?"
"I don't know what you see in her." Rebekah pouted. "She is an average high-schooler with control freak tendencies. She ruins everything I get involved with at school. "
Klaus picked up his sketchbook and rose to his feet. "I don't think it is her personal mission to make you miserable. Besides, don't you think you are a little old for high-school in the first place?"
"Maybe if someone would stop daggering me and let me enjoy my life I wouldn't be stuck trying to make up for all the things I missed."
"Be careful, Rebekah," Klaus warned.
Rebekah frowned and twirled a ring on her finger. "You never used to be so patient before when you saw something you wanted. You should take her and be done with it. Get her out of your system."
Making his way to the bar, Klaus poured himself a glass of bourbon. "It isn't that simple."
"It should be. What is this girl to you?"
Everything Klaus wanted to say, but he held back. He never was one to share confidences with anyone, even Rebekah, and he wasn't going to start now. "Try to play nice with her. She is going to be around for a while."
"Then you better pour me a drink too."
Without a word, Klaus handed her his drink and poured himself another. She took a sip, making a face at the taste and he smiled. Rebekah never really took to the taste of bourbon in all the years they were together.
"There was another girl once that had you worked up like this. Another blonde back when you were at Elizabeth's court. You used to write about her constantly. All these horrid little poems about her hair of gold." Laughter sparkled in Rebekah's eyes. "You were never much of a poet."
Klaus drank deeply of his bourbon, skillfully hiding his surprise at Rebekah's information. He hadn't remembered he wrote to his sister about Caroline. It made sense. He frequently sent her letters when they were apart. It bothered him that while he could recall memories of Caroline and him together like flickering scenes from a movie projector, there were still things lost to him. "What else did I write?"
"I don't remember much more than that. I only remember thinking you were crazy to have fallen in love at last and with a human. Kol and I had a good laugh about it."
"I'm sure you did," Klaus replied, his voice harsh.
Rebekah rose to her feet, moving to put her hand in his arm. "It isn't like we haven't all been there. Well, maybe not Kol. At the time were we were shocked you succumbed to what you considered a weakness."
Klaus brushed her hand off. "It is a weakness."
"You can't walk away, can you?"
He scowled at his sister, draining the bourbon from his glass and poured himself another drink. "Are you going to prom?"
Rebekah startled at the abrupt change of subject, her eyes clouding over. "I don't know. I haven't been asked yet."
"Well, I want you to ask someone then."
"I can't do that. I want to be asked."
Klaus leaned against the bar, lifting his glass to his lips. "I thought you were a modern woman now? What is the point of all this women's liberation if you can't even invite a gentleman to your own prom?"
"It is tradition, Nik," Rebekah scoffed. "You should understand that."
"Well, you are about to break with tradition, create a new fashion if you will." Klaus saluted his sister with his tumbler of bourbon.
Fingers clenched tight around her glass, Rebekah stared at him with narrowed eyes. "And just who is it I am supposed to ask?"
"One of my finest specimens."
"A hybrid?" Rebekah asked with a derisive snort.
"Yes, but I don't expect it to be a chore for you at all. You did show some interest in him at one point."
Rebekah leaned back in her chair, a crafty look on her face. "Tyler."
Klaus nodded. "I want you to keep him occupied —"
"And out of the picture while you romance his girlfriend," Rebekah finished for him.
"Ex-girlfriend. Supposedly things are over between them or at least he's not taking her to prom, " he said, blocking out the image of them together that plagued him.
Rebekah walked over to Klaus, circling him. "But you have suspicions, brother."
Klaus stared at her, keeping at bay his frustration, the rage flickering near the surface at the thought of Caroline with anyone but him. "Yes."
"Don't worry, Nik. I will keep him busy." Rebekah clinked her tumbler of scotch against his in a toast. "You can count on me."
"I know I can." Klaus took a swig of his drink. "Because if you fail me you will spend the next century back in your box."
Rebekah looked up at him sullenly. "You don't always have to follow up everything with a threat."
Klaus ignored her. How could she possibly understand that without threats there wouldn't be proper motivation? It was the foreshadowing of a person's worst nightmare that was often the catalyst for their greatest achievements. "So you will find someplace else to be tomorrow?"
"Yes." Rebekah slammed her empty glass down on the bar. Leaving his study, she paused in the doorway. "And, Nik, do try to refrain from writing any dreadful poetry this time."