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Forbes' Residence
Caroline's Bedroom
Later…
"I know you want to go to the carnival tonight, love. But you really need to call Lexi." Kol insisted to his vampire who had just finished taking a quick shower and dressed in fresh clothes.
Caroline was sitting on the stool in front of the mirror, hearing Kol the blonde become quiet for a moment, tilting her head and lightly touching the bite scar on her neck. "I'll call Lexi later. I promise… But first…" her blue-green eyes darken when she took another look at the scar the Salva-whore gave her.
Kol steps up to his vampire, standing behind her, frowning at the scar. How he wished he could give her his blood to heal these ugly wounds from her beautiful skin. "Someday, your scars will be gone, my love. And that, I swear on my soul." Kol vowed.
Caroline's throat hitched as her eyes widened, she realized something. She dropped her hands, clutching her body as her eyes closed, it seemed she was remembering something. "Kol… were… were you there… when he…" Kol frowned with concern, he knew what she meant and it broke him when he realized how broken she sounded. "…were you there when Damon… when he did this to me?" she whispered blankly.
"Yes. Yes I was. And as much as I wanted to, I couldn't do anything to help you." The Original admitted, disappointed and upset. He knew there was nothing he could do at the moment, to avoid it, but it didn't dismiss his shame. The Original leaned over, gently touching Caroline's scars.
"Oh." The blonde-haired beauty didn't know what to say about that.
Kol's eyes softened when he noticed how humiliated, guilty, and ashamed Caroline seemed to be at this moment. "I know you are upset, my darling. But worry not, Damon Salvatore will have what's coming for him."
Caroline scoffed as she opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She blinked her eyes, trying to keep her tears back. "I'm just—I can't believe he—" she halted herself, not wanting to get too emotional right now. Kol's undead heart sank in sadness when he saw how truly sad she is. "This—!" she grabbed her scar, digs her nails in the skin in anger. "—is ugly! It… it disturbs me, Kol! To know he has the pleasure to know he marked me, that he hurt me." she huffed with a disturbed voice, shaking her head, trying to keep herself in control.
"Hey…" Kol protested weakly when he noticed the blood that spilled from the side of her neck where the bite scar was located. Caroline had dug her nails so deep that she punctured her skin. "You're bleeding, please, don't hurt yourself. I hate to see you hurt." He scolded her lightly.
The blonde-haired beauty blinked, she carefully moved her fingers away from her neck and stared at her bloody nails. Caroline gulped dryly and grabbed the make-up remover wipes, cleaning the blood from her nails. "Blood was supposed to disgust me… but it didn't." she whispered, troubled. "What's wrong with me? Why is this happening to me?" she dumps the bloody wipes on the vanity once her fingernails are clean and free from the blood. "I'm…" she trailed off angrily while pulling back her tears, glaring at the scars from the reflection in the mirror.
Kol slowly lifted his hands, brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers. "No scars truly ruin you. They make you stronger. One day, If you wish, I will heal it for you. But for now, please remember that you are special, sweetheart. Both in and out, you are beautiful."
Caroline gasps at the freezing touch on her cheek as her teary blue-green eyes stared at herself through the mirror. "…I… I wish I could hear you, Kol. Really hear you" She whispered as a shakily smile appeared on her face. "…but I have a feeling that you are trying to comfort me and tell me that I'm beautiful with or without scars." Kol's lips twitched, and with a soft smile, he tapped her other cheek, indicating she was corrected.
Caroline chuckled airily. "…thank you." She was truly lucky to have such a wonderful being by her side.
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Only You
Chapter Nineteen
"—New World"
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Mystic Falls
High School
Outdoor – Carnival Night
Later…
Caroline sauntered through the school building, searching for a certain abuser with a determined glint in her blue-green eyes. Kol has been walking next to her in silence for a while, not really knowing what and if he could do anything in his current predicament. All he knows is that his vampire is searching for the soon-to-be-dead Salvatore.
The blonde-haired beauty halted when she reached the school building, narrowing her eyes in contemplation. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes snapping in realization. "There you are." She softly growled and Kol raised an eyebrow at her.
"Cute." He commented.
Kol was hot on her tail as the blonde made her way inside the school building, avoiding bumping in students and strangers gracefully as she turned down to an empty hallway. Caroline quickly stepped forward and sharply turned another corner, pausing when she saw Damon's back in the empty corridor.
The Original growled softly when he saw the soon-to-be-dead vampire. Damon paused, and slowly turned around, surprised to see Caroline. "Hey, Blondie." He smirks. "They let you out?"
"I remember." Caroline said, loud and clear before Damon walked off.
The older Salvatore turned around, boredom and disinterest clear on his face. "What do you remember?" he asked, feigning interest to humor the blonde a little.
The blonde-haired beauty hummed with faux-thoughtful. "I remember how you manipulated me—" she steps forward calmly while Kol watches his vampire quietly. "—you pushed me around, abused me, erased my memories, fed on me." She listed out how much this asshole did terrible things to her.
"You're crazy." Damon declared in disbelief. Which made Kol glare hatefully at the soon-to-be-dead vampire.
Caroline cocked her eyebrow as she paused, crossing her arms while leaning her left leg. "Memories have been coming back… in pieces." She confessed.
Damon faced her in confusion. "You can't remember." He denies as he steps closer to her. "It's impossible, I mean unless you're becoming a…" he trails off, stunned as he realizes the truth.
The blonde-haired beauty smiled coldly at him. "You're an asshole, Damon Salvatore." Then, out of the blue, she punched him in the face. The loud crack that was heard in the hallway meaning she had broken Damon's nose.
Kol sniggered in pleasure and pride. "That's my girl." He muttered to himself as he purely enjoyed watching, a gleeful smirk on his face.
The older Salvatore covered his bloody nose as his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Oh." Before Caroline leaves, she decides to give him a message. "I have a message from Katherine, she said, "Game on"." Damon gasped in shock. Caroline whirled around; however, Damon grabbed her shoulder with his free hand.
"Wait—" he didn't finish his sentence when the blond-haired beauty grabbed his wrist, twisted it around from her shoulder, and kicked him straight at his chest with her super-strength. Instantly, Damon was thrown backward and hit the ground with a loud crack as she broke another of his bones.
Damon groaned in pain as he pushed himself away from the blonde, staring at Caroline, speechless.
Caroline glares at him coldly. "Never touch me again." She whirled around and left him alone in the hallway, gracefully.
"…fuck that was hot." It was not needed to mention that Kol was thoroughly turned on. He wanted to see more of his vampire's fire, the Original wasproud as to how she stood up for herself. Although, he wishes she could hurt the soon-to-be-dead vampire more, but oh well. Beggars can't be choosers. But he was also glad she didn't. He had a plan for Damon Salvatore after all. The Original could almost feel the vampire blood on his hands. He didn't really know what he would do to the vampire, there was just way too many choices, but he did know it would somehow involve a baseball bat.
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Later…
Caroline sighed heavily as she walked further and further from the carnival, taking deep breaths. Kol frowned in concern for his blonde. And as he steps closer to examine his vampire, the Original realized, she was hungry. "You need blood. As much as I am amazed by your control, darling. You are but a new vampire. You need blood." Kol muttered.
Suddenly, the blonde-haired beauty gasped, her head jerking to her right where a young man was wiping his bloodied nose with a napkin as he was walking in her general direction. "No…" she whispered when she smelt his blood. She quickly shut her eyes, trying to resist her urges.
"Bloody hell." The Original knew what was happening and he wasn't sure if his vampire could hold her temptation any longer.
The man paused when he noticed Caroline. He lowered his napkin to stare at the blonde, concern clear on his face. "Hey. Is everything okay?"
Caroline silently whimpered, trying to fight the hunger. The man frowned and stepped closer to the blonde, trying to see if she was hurt.
"Oi, I think you shouldn't go any closer, mate." Kol tried to warn the man, knowing it was useless, but he knew his vampire would feel guilty if she accidentally killed the human. He knew how kind-hearted Caroline truly is. Bloody hell, she bit the nurse and bandaged her, Kol mused in anxiety.
"Kol." Caroline whispered in fear, not wanting to give in to temptation while the man kept getting closer and closer to her. She could smell the delicious scent of bloodcoming from him.
The man tilted his head. "Hey, you alright?"
The blonde-haired beauty slowly opened her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I'm… sorry." She couldn't fight the hunger any longer.
"What?" the man asked in confusion.
Kol sighed heavily, watching Caroline give in to instinct and vamp-speeding to the human, biting through his jugular. He watched his vampire swipe the panicked man off his feet as he fell on his back against the hard ground. Caroline stepped over the man, sitting on his chest and immediately touring through his neck. He silently went over to his vampire's side and bent down. Kol placed his forearms on his knees while watching her. "You can't fight against your thirst, sweetheart. You have to embrace it and accept it. Otherwise, you will end up murdering a lot of innocents." He said, calmly.
After a moment, Caroline paused and slowly lifted her head, shaking uncontrollably. "No… no, no, no. Please no!" she cried out in fear and guilt while Kol frowned at her with sympathetic eyes. "Please…" her hands were shaking when she tried to feel the man's pulse, but she knew.
Caroline knew she had killed an innocent man. She crawled away from the dead man while sobbing hard. "No… I… I didn't mean to." The blonde-haired beauty stumbled to the old farm truck while her blond hair covered her bloodied face.
"Darling…" Kol watched her leaned over the truck, arms folded on the platform, covered her face in disgust. Her shoulders were shaking while she sobbed out loud. The Original stood up and went to her side, leaned his back against the platform, next to her. "It's not your fault. It's instinct. It's natural." Kol tried to comfort her, the tip of his fingers brushing over her bloodied cheeks.
"Kol…" she whispered. "I- I didn't… I didn't mean to." The Original closed his eyes for a second, the broken voice of his human registering on him. He wished he could be there for her, to wrap his arms around his blonde and wipe away her tears, for he would do anything to see her smile. Then he noticed Damon walk towards them calmly. Kol narrowed his eyes at the Salva-whore in suspicion.
The older Salvatore glanced at the dead man on the ground blankly, stepping over to Caroline. "Hey…" he whispered, approaching her as you would to a scared animal.
Caroline's shoulders stiffed while Kol pushed himself away from the truck, glaring at Damon cautiously. Kol does not trust this asshole, he would gladly leave Damon to die from thirsty if the opportunity ever presents itself, fuck, Kol would gladly drain the blood himself as he watched Damon suffer in his last moments.
The older Salvatore tilted his head at the back of Caroline's head. "…you feeling okay?"
"Okay? Okay?!" the blonde-haired beauty snapped her head at Damon in a mixture of anger, guilt, and shame. "He's dead! I killed him!" She stepped back, facing the older Salvatore, caring not for the blood on her face. "Wh—what's wrong with me?" she cried out in confusion.
Kol, meanwhile, was torn between liking the vision of his vampire being covered in blood and wanting to clean the blood from her face. However, he didn't like seeing his vampire being so distraught. He would prefer to see her enjoy being a vampire, not afraid of being one. His undead heart squeezed in apprehension, what if she was not happy as a vampire?
What if... what if she wanted to die?
"Hey, hey, it's okay." Damon stepped closer, placing his hand on her shoulder, trying to not startle her. "I can help you." He tried to comfort her.
Kol glared suspiciously at Damon who stepped closer to his vampire. "What the bloody hell are you up to, arsehole?" Kol hisses at the soon-to-be-dead vampire.
The blonde-haired beauty hiccupped as she eyed him. "…you can?" doubt clear in her voice.
"Yeah, I have to."
The Original doesn't like this. He wanted his vampire to be the farthest possible from the Salvatore. "Darling, you need to leave. I don't trust him." Kol muttered, eyeing at the older Salvatore.
Caroline tilted her head quietly, Kol's gaze fixed at her in a puzzling frown. "…what are you gonna do?"
"Wait, what are you doing? I said don't trust him. Don't fucking trust him!" Kol protested in anger and fear.
Damon smiled charmingly at her. "The only thing I can do." He lovely brushed her bangs away from her sticky face, Kol growling at him. How dare this piece of shit touches his vampire. "I'm gonna kill you." He confessed.
"Fucking hell you are, Salvatore!" the Original snapped, wishing once more he could torture this asshole. There's no way in the nine hells that he is going to watch his vampire die. He was already forced to watch her die once, and there wouldn't be a second time!
Caroline's eyes widened in horror as she jerked her head back, stepping away from the Salvatore in shock. "No… please don't! I don't want to die!"
"You won't." Kol promised while glaring daggers at Damon. He silently wishes he had his magic, so he could give him an aneurysm and melt his brain until it starts to come out of his ears. It was a very nice image, unfortunately, he's only a vampire, and a ghost one at that, and even if (when) he returns to his body, he doesn't have his magic anymore. However, he was an Original, meaning he would have all the time in the world to torture this bastard.
Damon stares at her calmly. "Yeah, but you are already dead." He bluntly informed her.
Kol forcefully closed his eyes, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "Wow, what a great way to inform someone of their true nature. Brilliantly done." He sarcastically said in anger, venom clear in his voice. He knew this would make Caroline panic.
"No!" Caroline shakes her head in denial. "I'm not dead. Don't say that, okay?" she refused to believe the obvious truth. "Just help me!"
The older Salvatore raised his hands to calm her down. "Okay."
It took Caroline a couple of minutes to relax. "…okay? Can you help me? Please?" Damon stared at her blankly. "Please!" she pleaded.
"Okay, okay." Damon instantly wrapped one of his arms around Caroline as Kol fruitlessly swiped his hand through Damon. —"Get your filthy hands off her, your tosser!"— "It's the only way." Kol's eyes widened in dread when he saw Damon take out a stake from his back pocket and raise it behind Caroline's back, preparing to kill her.
"NO!" Kol snapped as the stake in Damon's hand immediately flew itself away from his hand and at the same time, Damon was pushed away from the blonde-haired beauty.
The Original sighed in relief to see the stake far away from his vampire as he briefly noted something, it was him who did this. He decided to file it for later as his dark gaze shifted over to his vampire, seeing Stefan with her. "Stefan! I knew there's a reason I like you, mate." Kol was more than happy to see Stefan who stood protectively in front of Caroline while glaring daggers at Damon.
"Get away from me!" Caroline snapped in fear when she saw Elena holding her hands, shoving the brunette away from her. "You killed me!"
"Wrong. It's Katherine who murdered you." Kol muttered as he went to his vampire's side.
Elena shakes her head, denied. "No, no, no. No, Caroline." She steps forward while Caroline eyed her in distrust. "That wasn't me. You know that. That was Katherine." She tried to explain.
"No!" the blonde-haired beauty shakes her head, confused, scared, and lost. "Then why did she look like you?! And why, why did she do this to me?!"
The brunette stared sadly at her friend. "Stefan, we've got to get her inside." She pleaded to her boyfriend who was still staring cautiously at Damon.
Stefan stepped back while holding his hand out to Caroline. "It's alright, Caroline. Come with me." He said, soothingly.
Caroline frowned in distrust. Kol lifted his hand to gently touch her cheek. "You can definitely trust him, love. Take his hand. Go on, take it." The blonde-haired beauty hesitated a little but still took Stefan's hand.
"She will die, it's only a matter of time." Damon declared, indifferent. Which Kol glared at him hatefully.
"I am so going to enjoy killing you." Kol growled angrily.
Stefan glanced at Caroline. "Yeah, maybe…" then he shifted his eyes to his older brother calmly. "…but it's not gonna happen tonight."
Damon scoffed. "Oh, yeah, it is." And in vamp-speed, he picked up the stake, rushing at them. However, Elena puts herself in front of Caroline and gasps in shock and fear, yet stays bravely, as she stares at the stake that is dangerously close to her face.
"Oh, by all means, go on. Feel free to kill her." Kol didn't care about the doppelganger, he only cared for his vampire and her well-being at the moment.
Silence fell for a moment until Elena opened her mouth. "Damon, she's my friend." Kol noticed the older Salvatore hesitating as he stared at the brunette. Elena refused to move so he dropped his arm and stepped back defeatedly.
"Whatever happens, it's on you." Damon said, conceding and turning to walk away.
Stefan gently helped Caroline, trying to move her away from there while Elena turned her head to Stefan. "We have to clean her up." She informed him. The younger Salvatore nodding his head in agreement. "No, we should just leave her like that." Kol sarcastically said as he rolled his eyes at Elena.
"Caroline?" all heads turn to Bonnie who frowned in concern for her friend and confusion at what was happening. "When did you get out of the hospital?" then she noticed the blood on her face. Kol groaned in annoyance, he knew this was going to make his vampire upset. After all, Bonnie Bennett is still new to the supernatural world and she doesn't yet understand anything about the species. Meaning she won't understand a vampire compulsion for blood.
Bonnie's mouth fell in shock as she stepped forward and touched the blonde beauty arm. "No, you're not. You can't be." Bonnie muttered in fear and denial. Then her eyes widened, horrified by the truth of what she felt.
"Bonnie?" Caroline whimpered, needing her best friend to be with her.
Bonnie withdrew her hand instantly and stumbled back. "Oh, god…" then she noticed the dead man in the distance. Her olive-green eyes spark in recognition and horror. "No…"
"Oh, Bonnie—" but the petite witch shakes her head, backing away from her.
"Bloody hell." Kol curses as the panic visibly builds upon Caroline.
However, Stefan immediately vamp-speeded Caroline away, Kol following right after them.
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Stefan ended up taking Caroline to the bathroom, the younger Salvatore quickly grabbed some tissues from the box while Caroline went to the sink, leaning over it, her bloody hands clutched at the edge of the sink. The blonde-haired beauty sobbed. "She hates me! Bonnie hates me." She whimpered, scared, distraught, anxious. A dangerous mix of emotions boiling inside her.
"No, no, she's just in shock, we all are." Stefan denied, going over to the blonde-haired vampire he wiped the blood off her face with the tissues.
The blonde-haired beauty cries as she shakes her head, Kol's undead heart sank at the sight. It seems the reality has hit his vampire who now realized a fraction of the horror she is facing right now. "Sweetheart…" he stood next to her, watching her in worry. "I'm a murderer. I'm a monster."
"Ssh. Let's get this blood off, come on." Stefan insisted while trying to get all the blood washed from Caroline's face. The blonde-haired beauty stared at her bloody hands which Kol knew bothers her. "You can wash your hands. It's okay to wash the blood off." Kol murmured to his vampire, his voice soft.
The blonde-haired beauty sniffed as she shakily turned on the knob and started washing the blood off from her hands. Caroline whimpers as she roughly washes the blood off and Stefan returns to her side with new towels. "I'm a monster." She repeated, scared.
Before Kol could do anything to comfort her, Stefan shakes his head and helps her by wiping the blood off from her face. "Listen to me, your emotions are heightened right now. It's part of the transformation. It's completely normal. I promise you, okay?"
Caroline glanced up, turning off the water and her teary blue-green eyes glanced up at her reflection. She gasped when she saw the black veins popping around her eyes, changing her face. "Why does this keep happening to my face?!" she shouted hysterically, leaning against the sink as she covered her face in fear and- and disgust. "I'm—I'm hideous!"
Kol stared at her, feeling hopeless that he can't help her in this situation, even more, because she is not listening to him nor reacting to his touch. So, he decided to step back and let the young Salvatore take control. Stefan threw the bloody towels away and stood in front of Caroline. "Hey, look at me, look at me, Caroline. Hey, look at me—" his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her attention on him.
"Look at me!" Stefan demanded, snapping the blonde-haired beauty out of it. Caroline lifted her face and stared at Stefan with tearful eyes and ruined make-up. Kol took another step back as he doesn't like seeing her crying. He preferred her to smile. "Look at my face, look at my face." His face changed with black veins around his eyes as they shifted to a dark crimson-red. "You see that?" Caroline nodded her head timidly, anxious when the young Salvatore lifted his hands to cup her face. "When you feel the blood rushing, you tell yourself that you're going to get through it, that you're strong enough. Yes, yes, no matter how good it feels to give yourself over to it, you fight it off, you bury it. Watch me, watch me." Stefan shows her how he effortlessly changes his face back to normal. "It's the only way you're gonna survive this thing. Try."
Kol watches them silently with a blank face, Caroline taking deep breaths as her eyes closed and Stefan soothes her. Soon, Caroline's face returns to normal.
"That's good." Stefan praised her with a warm smile.
The blonde-haired beauty opened her eyes and stared at him. "Why did Katherine do this to me?" she whispered, brokenly and lost.
"I don't know, I wish I did." Stefan confessed and Caroline closed her eyes sadly. "Hey, hey, I promise you. I will not let anything happen to you." The blonde-haired beauty just nodded her head as she sobbed once again. "Come here. Come here." The young Salvatore embraces her in his arms, comforting her.
The Original leans heavily against the wall while staring at them. He knew that Stefan was only helping Caroline. He knew that, and he is grateful for it.
But seeing her like this—comforted, hugging, and so peaceful by his presence…
It hurts him because he wants to help the girl he fell for.
And he can't do that.
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Forbes' Residence
Caroline's Bedroom
Later…
Caroline was laying on her bed as she glanced over the alarm clock on the nightstand. It's one in the morning and she still couldn't bring herself to close her eyes and sleep. Her mind was in chaos and her memories jumbled. It took her some time to figure it out, to organize it, and to truly carefully think it all through at her own pace.
She thought about her time with Damon Salvatore. At how he used her, manipulated her, fed on her, betrayed her, lied to her, and erased her memories. Not only that, but he also kissed her, saw her in her underwear, slept on the same bed with her and those thoughts disgusted her. Caroline fluttered her eyes shut, shivering in revolt and rage. She never felt so humiliated, violated, and frightened.
She hates Damon Salvatore.
And then she recalled a certain friend who has been there with her ever since the beginning. Caroline doesn't know how long Kol has been with her, but she slightly comforts the thought of having her ghost with her. 'So, not only witches and ghosts are real. But vampires too.' She mused in incredulity. Caroline then recalled that she had made a promise to Kol, she was supposed to call Lexi.
The blonde-haired beauty sat up, reached for her phone from the nightstand, and looked through the contact list. "Kol…" she whispered, calling out softly for her ghost. She hasn't felt any of his cold touches nor hear his words ever since Stefan helped her calm down.
Meanwhile, Kol has been watching over his vampire as he was sitting on the ground near her bed. The Original hummed. "I'm here, darling." He muttered, reaching over to hold her hand.
Caroline shivers but a small smile appear on her face. "Good." She is happy that he was still here with her. That after everything she still had him. "I'm going to call Lexi." She pressed the call button and placed it on her ear. Caroline flinched by the loud volume, so she lowered her phone and put on a speaker in low volume.
It two-three rings until Lexi answered. "Linnie? Hey… I didn't expect a call from you this late. What's wrong?" Lexi asked, worried.
"…remember you said that you believe that all fictions have some truth in it?" Caroline asked while Kol raised his eyebrow, curious as to where his vampire is going with this.
Lexi hummed. "Yeah. Does this have something to do with your ghost boy?"
The blonde-haired beauty shakes her head. "No… it's—well… I mean—" she hesitated and Kol scooted himself closer to the bed and gently brushed his fingers against her hand. Caroline shivers as her eyes closed. She took a breath, Lexi asking her what's wrong in a concerned tone. "…do you believe in vampires?" Caroline decided to be straightforward to Lexi.
Silence in the awkward and tense atmosphere.
"…what happened?" Lexi wasn't asking, she was demanding to know.
And so, Caroline told her about everything, right from the beginning.