"Maybe write a fic about this watch?v=xNLvo1W4p-s or make a koroline story inspired by Veronica Mars? Logan- Kol and Veronica- Caroline of course." -StefQ
I found someone suggesting my own vid as a prompt as hilarious. Like I should've known.
Caroline laid her head on the top of the picnic table she was occupying outside. It wasn't too sunny today so she decided against her better judgment to enjoy the good weather instead of hanging out in the library where it was safe. Safe from what you ask? Well, insert our Obligatory Psychotic Jackass.
The blonde nearly jumped up as a basketball nearly hit her head on the table, seemingly flying out of nowhere. She raised her head from her forearms to see Kol Mikaelson laughing with his friends from across the quad at their table of Evil Rich Snobs. She glared at him and considered just giving him the bird and walking off like she usually did but she had been having a relatively good day until Satan's Favorite Son decided to plague her again. She grinded her teeth as Kol raised his eyebrows at her, mocking smile present as always on his stupid face.
He was waiting for her to do something and she considered chucking the basketball at his head and see how he liked it but remembered her aim wasn't really as good as she liked. He'd always mocked her for it when they were together albeit it was more affectionate than cruel then. Wait, you didn't know? Yes, she used to go out with him before he mutated into the Devil's Offspring.
Kol, finally had enough of waiting for her to move, and got up from his table, the rest of the Evil Rich Snobs watching him as he sauntered –yes, sauntered like a fucking peacock– towards his ex-girlfriend. Caroline refused to run even when her survival instincts were hollering for her to do so and remained where she was seated. She glared up at him as he stopped beside her table so he could look down at her as he took the ball and told her, "Don't be such an asshole, Car. Is it that hard to throw a ball?"
She opened her mouth to reply to that but he smirked down at her nefariously, hands rolling the basketball between his hands almost playfully. "Then again, you never really knew what to do with them, did you?"
The innuendo made her blush and she huffed and looked away from him, refusing to indulge him any longer as he laughed and walked away. She closed her eyes and tried to will away memories of a boy who tried to make her laugh instead of laughing at her. A boy who would probably punch the boy he was now without a second thought. They used to be friends but that was now a long time ago.
It was dark by the time she left the Grill, her shift forcing her to stay later than she'd like since Vicki Donovan quit and eloped with Jeremy Gilbert a few months ago. Matt waved at her as she left and got in her car, the drive home was usually quiet and uneventful but she had stop her car as she saw someone lying on the middle of the street. She got out quickly and walked over, trying to see if the person needed help or at the least still alive when she saw it was Damon Salvatore. She and Damon used to interact once upon a time when he was dating Rebekah.
"Damon?" She called out as he sat up and looked at her with his icy blue eyes.
He looked tortured. That was all he was since Rebekah's body was found by Caroline's own mother last year. Not many knew that the reason Rebekah drove off that night was because Caroline found Damon kissing Katherine Pierce at Duke's party. As any good best friend, Caroline told Rebekah and the blonde drove off to cool her head.
If Caroline had known, that was the last time she'd see the other girl alive, she would've stopped her. Just made Rebekah sit with her and eat ice cream until they got fat. Listen to sad break up songs through the night or watch John Hughes films. Anything but for Rebekah to be found with a knife protruding from her back. Caroline had screamed so loud, her mother had to pull her away from the scene.
"Hello…Care-oh-line,"
He got to his feet slowly, a flask in hand. She could smell alcohol on his breath and wrinkled her nose. He'd come to school drunk more than enough times and yet somehow was able to graduate without getting expelled. She chalked it up to the Salvatore influence and money.
"Damon, what are you doing?" She crossed her arms over her chest, wondering whether she should just call her mom or Stefan to pick him up and take him home. He really was quiet useless when he was like this.
"I am having a drink for her," He raised his flask. "To the one that got away, Rebekah Mikaelson."
She frowned as he took a long gulp from his flask before snatching it from him. "First of all, you've had enough. Second, Rebekah didn't get away, she was murdered."
"I miss her," He spoke like she hadn't said anything. "I miss her more than anything in the world."
He was crying, big blue eyes staring into hers and she softened, understanding that despite his infidelity, he had loved Rebekah. And the guilt of his wrongs to her was gradually destroying him. And no one could save him from himself. He collapsed to his knees, his head in his hands.
"This is my fault." He closed his teary eyes, shaking his head. "She died because of me."
Caroline stared down at him, torn between trying to assure him none of this was his fault but at the same time wanting to blame him for everything. Everyone had blamed her for Rebekah's death, for not stopping the girl or being with her when it happened. For not saving her when Kol was at Columbia wit for his brother Elijah's speech and having to tell him over the phone that his sister was dead. Kol wanted to make someone pay and he'd been making her pay dearly ever since.
But despite the treatment and loss she'd endured since that night, she couldn't bring it in herself to make Damon feel worse and tell him he had caused his girlfriend's death. Rebekah loved this idiot despite everything. And Caroline was not like Kol. She sighed and walked past Damon and back to her car, reaching in for her phone and dialing Stefan's number.
The next day at school, Caroline came in with her usual guarded expression and stance. She was used to the glaring and whispers behind her back. She'd pretended not to hear the vulgar rumors or cruel laughter. She pretended that none of it hurt her and it worked most days.
But she could not pretend to see nothing when Kol walked up to Elena and smiled at her in greeting, laughing as the pretty brunette tried to take off her sweater with much difficulty. Caroline tried to swallow the hurt welling up inside of her because this shouldn't affect her at all. Kol had dumped her and they were over. So why was seeing him kiss Elena as sweetly as he used to with her make her want to run away and cry her eyes out?
She didn't want to let him win. She knew Kol was just playing another game with her. He was brutalized with loss and it'd made him brutal in return. She forced herself to keep walking and when inside the school like she saw nothing.
She'd thought this day couldn't have been worse except the school had decided to hold a memorial service for Rebekah, marking the one year anniversary since her death and Caroline wanted to very much not to be there. Kol was sitting with Elena, looking pissed as their teachers spoke all sorts of platitudes about his sister. They knew her better than anyone and Rebekah had not been some saintly sweet piece of pastry they tried to pass her off as. Kol had stormed off when he couldn't take it anymore and Elena followed him.
Caroline watched him go and sighed to herself. Her old instincts were telling her to go after him, understanding exactly how he felt at the moment but she had to make herself stay put. They weren't dating anymore and it wasn't her job to comfort him. It was Elena's now.
Still she eyed where he'd gone and froze, Rebekah was standing there eyes focused on hers. And she wanted to open her mouth and say something but in the next second, the other blonde was gone. It'd all been a figure of her imagination. It hadn't been real.
The knocking on her front door later that night surprised her. No one had been visiting her house in a while and certainly not Kol who had a look of determination on his face as she opened her door. She eyed him warily and didn't step out of her house, hand on the doorknob in case she needed to slam it close quickly. She didn't trust this boy anymore and she had reason to.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him, suspicion evident in her voice.
He stared her down, all seriousness as he told her. "I need your help."
"For what?"
"To help find out who killed my sister."
She was shocked and stared at him in disbelief. "Why me? What could I possibly find that my mom and all the deputies couldn't?"
"You knew Rebekah more than anymore, more than me," He replied. "If there's something Rebekah hid away, you'd find it."
She was at an impasse. She'd wanted to find out what happened to Rebekah for a while but never had the ability to do so. She wasn't welcome in the Mikaelson home and her mom had forbid her from snooping into it. No one else seemed to want to help her either but that apparition at the gym was telling her something, she needed to learn what happened to Rebekah.
"Alright," She said to him, loosening her tense stance. "When do we start?"
It was the first genuine smile she'd received from him in a very long time.
If people noticed the two of them hanging out again, sneaking off to talk about whatever, they were all very obvious about it. Even Elena who was usually pretty quiet started asking questions why her boyfriend was talking again to his ex-girlfriend he'd claimed to hate. And it made things a bit troublesome in their investigation. But Caroline was descended from a very long line of Sheriffs and knew a thing or two about finding things.
Rebekah's room was clean, no little small evidences to be found there. Caroline had even swiped some of the pictures from that night from the Sherriff's office and found nothing of value. It wasn't until Caroline swiped Stefan Salvatore's keys as they were passing by each other in the hall did they start to get a lead. The Salvatore boarding house was empty as Kol had just seen Damon drinking away his sorrows at the Grill which made looking around for things in the older man's room easier.
Kol was looking at an old scrapbook Rebekah had given to Damon as Caroline unscrewed the air vent, reaching into to successfully find a diary. It was a trick to hide things from parents she'd learned from Rebekah who'd learned from Damon. "Kol, take a look at this."
He walked over and took the diary from her, eyeing the handwriting. "This looks a lot like Bekah's." He stopped at the back cover and reached inside the small pocket for a memory card. "You think there's something important in here?"
"I'd bet you money on it." Caroline replied.
They went to her house, their usual base of operations, because her mom was usually working late at the station and he had too many siblings coming and going at his house. She brought out her laptop and they sat on her living room couch as he inserted the sd card into it, both of them looking into the screen as he clicked on the video file found there. It was Damon…and Katherine. They were kissing passionately, obviously well on their way to more.
Caroline frowned at the screen. If Rebekah had known about Damon's infidelity all this time, why had she seemed so upset when Caroline told her? Had her best friend been in denial and Caroline learning about it finally pushed her off the edge? This just made the mysteries even worse.
Kol finally had enough and stopped the video, getting to his feet and looking like he wanted to punch the wall. He went to the window and leaned on it, looking at whatever was out the window before turning around to look at her. "Did you know?" He demanded, looking furious. "About Damon and Katherine?"
Caroline could only nod, unable to utter any words,
Kol watched her expression before it dawned on him. "That's why Rebekah disappeared that night. You found out about Damon cheating on her and you told her."
She nodded again and jumped back against the couch as he kicked the wall. "That son of a bitch! I'm going to kill him!"
"Kol-" She tried to get him to calm down but he wasn't listening, already walking away. She got to her feet and followed him, grasping unto his arm when he reached the front door. "Kol, listen to me!"
He stopped and looked at her, dark eyes practically scorching. "Why should i?"
"Because you haven't listened to me in over a year!" She grasped unto his forearm harder, trying to get him to stay away with force of will alone. "You need to listen to me now."
"It's his fault Rebekah's death," He told her heatedly. "If Damon hadn't been such a cheating bastard, she wouldn't have gone out that night. It's his fault!"
"Kol-"
He shook her off and opened the front door rushing out of it and into the night.
She didn't know whether Kol had confronted Damon that night since her mother didn't come home telling her they'd found Damon Salvatore's body. Kol could be vindictive and cruel, she knew at first hand. She was a little nervous to be seeing him at his family's Christmas ball, something they didn't have last year due to Rebekah's death but as this was one of Rebekah's favorite events, they were having it again. She'd been surprised to receive an invitation but chalked it up to Kol's anger finally transferring to someone else.
Her gown was the periwinkle blue Rebekah had helped her buy last year. Rebekah had been a master shopper and had helped Caroline pick out her dress for Homecoming for last year as well. Kol had loved her in it and it was one of the best nights of her life. The three of them with Damon as Rebekah's date looking perfect as they attended the dance.
Now the three of them were here at the Christmas ball all either sore with or trying to avoid each other. Kol in particular looked like he was on the prowl for Damon and the latter male already disappeared with a bottle of champagne somewhere. Caroline sighed to herself as she entered the ballroom, trying to keep herself calm as she smiled at the adults and peers around her. Tonight was going to be a lovely night despite the fact that Rebekah should've been with her, looking like a princess and not six feet under.
Kol finally saw her and he looked handsome as always in his tux. He let out a smile she hadn't seen in a while, reminiscent of when he saw her trying out her homecoming dress last year at the boutique. She walked over reluctantly, not sure if she should be talking with him when he beat her to the punch and kissed her hand in a move totally out of some fairytale movie. And with the decorations around them, it almost felt like they were in one.
"You look positively lovely," He said to her and she blushed.
"Thank you." She tried to sound nonchalant but was failing. "You look…handsome."
He grinned at her, obviously enjoying flustering her. He always had. "Do I?"
She was about to snap some witty retort at him when the front doors opened and a pretty brunette in a black dress walked in. Elena looked positively gorgeous and her dark eyes immediately went to where Caroline and Kol were standing. It dawned on Caroline that she really shouldn't be so friendly with someone else's boyfriend. Kol had been hers long ago but that wasn't the case now.
"I need a drink," She told Kol and left before he could protest.
She didn't notice the brunette following her as she went out for some air.
"Caroline!"
The blonde paused, not expecting Elena Gilbert to be following her. She half-expected Kol as the boy had a real problem letting things go but she should've known his girlfriend would come barking at her soon. She wouldn't have taken lightly to any girl chatting up Kol when they were dating. The boy had too much charisma to be fair.
"Can we talk?"
Caroline turned around and smiled awkwardly at the other girl. "Sure. About what?"
"About Kol." Elena's pretty face looked concerned. "Are you…are you two…"
Caroline waited for Elena to get her sentences together and wished she wasn't there. She didn't want to be having this conversation with Kol's girlfriend. She'd prefer a million different things to this right now. Going to the ball might be a mistake after all.
"I noticed you and Kol have been hanging out again," Elena finally said. "Are you two back to being friends?"
Were they friends? Caroline wondered. Sure, they had a common goal and were working on it. But could they really be considered friends?
"Yeah. I guess we're trying to put our past behind us." She decided to put things like that because saying anything about investigating a murder would just lead to trouble. "We're just friends though, nothing more."
"Oh, I wasn't implying that…" Elena blushed, shaking her head. "It's just I know the last year's been hard for you. And when I think about what it's like to be in your position, it must be such a relief to finally resolve things between you and Kol."
She blinked at that. "What do you mean?"
"It's just that I remember how you and Kol were when you were together. You were like the sweetest couple and we all thought you were perfect together."
Well, they all saw how that ended.
"Well, we're just friends now really." Caroline assured her. "We don't have any romantic feelings about each other at all."
"Really?" Elena seemed to be searching for something in her expression. "Because I saw how you looked when Kol kissed me on the quad a few weeks ago…"
"What are you talking about?"
She tried to play it off, like it never happened. Because Elena couldn't know that despite everything that Kol had done to her, she still felt something for him. Traitorous emotions swirled inside of her whenever she was near and she just wanted for them to stop. She wanted to stop feeling anything for Kol Mikaelson.
"Do you still love him?"
Elena seemed to have realized it though and she closed her eyes in shame.
She couldn't say anything that seemed to dissuade Elena's belief and she decided to just head back inside, head spinning as she tried to erase the fact that she still loved Kol Mikaelson out of her mind. She stopped though, both her and Elena stopping where they were standing to see Damon and Kol fighting. Damon was leaning over Kol punching him ruthlessly as Stefan tried to pull him off. Elena looked like she wanted to help Stefan stop Damon but the older male finally stopped as Kol was still on the ground.
Getting to his feet, Damon eyed the many onlookers until he saw Caroline, eyes glinting with something more than torment for once in a very long time before he turned and walked away, a large smile on his face. Caroline turned to where Elena was trying to wake up a knocked out Kol and wanted to start laughing. She hadn't felt this alive in a long time as well.
There wasn't much to the ball after that as Kol's older brothers and Elena took him to the hospital. She drank some champagne and even had a small pleasant conversation with Esther Mikaelson before deciding to go home. Still wearing her gown, she eyed the photos on her vanity table. There was one of her and Kol back in freshman year posing together on her couch and another of her and Rebekah in their bathing suits at the beach. She picked up the second photo and smiled at Rebekah looking cool in her large shades.
"Hey Bex," She said. "I went to the ball and my ex-prince charming got into a fight with yours. His new princess thinks I'm still in love with him by the way and it was totally a bore without you."
There was no reply, of course. She put it back on the vanity table. She sighed to herself, that heavy feeling whenever she remembered Rebekah never really going away. If only they could figure out what happened to her and why someone would do that to her.
Rebekah had been no saint but to be killed was an extreme. She glanced at her laptop on her bed and decided to check the sd card one more time. Maybe there'd been something in there she'd missed. She pressed play on another video file and gasped as she saw Rebekah in Damon's room, looking exactly how she did on the day she died.
"What are you doing here?" She heard a familiar voice in the video before Katherine Pierce came into view.
A month later, Damon was on the run after murdering Katherine. He'd finally figured out that the girl was the one who killed his girlfriend. In a fit of rage, he'd strangled the girl to death and took off, finally avenging Rebekah. He'd texted Caroline before he disappeared, thanking her. She'd given the sd card with the video of Katherine killing Rebekah to her mom and the murder case was finally solved.
Caroline and Kol hadn't talked much since then. Not even when Elena broke up with him in front of everyone in the quad earlier because he was "still obviously in love with Caroline". Caroline had laughed at that before leaving, not wanting to play a part in that high school drama anymore. She may still have feelings for Kol but that didn't mean he returned them.
If he did, he would be outside her door now and-
She stiffened when the doorbell rang, making her way to the door and seeing through the glass pane that it indeed was Kol Mikaelson outside, smiling at her from the darkness of her porch. She opened the door reluctantly, not believing this could be happening. "What the matter?" She asked.
He smiled at her and looked at her with a warmth and softness in his eyes that was too familiar for her to ignore. "This is that part where you offer me a drink."
She continued to stare at him.
"This is the reunion scene," He told her. "We're supposed to live happily ever after now."
It finally sunk in that yes, this was happening. And she was happier than she'd been in a while. She laughed and stepped back to let him in. "By all means, please do come in."