Desperate to get away from the party, I stormed out of the house. Really, I love Bonnie to death, but I swear if she demands me to go get the crowd another round of beer, I was going to freak out on her.
Alcohol really brings out the worst in her, but given that we were having my welcoming party, I couldn't complain. We've been best friends since elementary school back in our hometown, Mystic Falls. Her parents bought her a house here in the French Quarter of New Orleans for college and lucky for me, I only need to pay little rent.
For a while during our junior year, she treated me a little too cold from how I was used to, but her Grams died that year, so I couldn't really blame her. She managed to warm up to me again the year after, and here we are now. College!
She moved a week before I did because she didn't really have much business in town to worry about. As for me, being the control freak that I am, I still had to hand down the student council to someone who could actually handle it. April Young was a good girl, but I was too scared that she would ruin everything that I did for the school.
We still need to go back to Mystic Falls after one month for graduation, but we wanted to settle in town before 'officially' moving in.
"Hey!" I shouted at a man who bumped onto my shoulders, "Watch where you're going!" I almost fell out of balance, maybe I also had too much to drink for the night.
The man gripped my forearm very tightly, pulling me a little closer to him. His back was to me and I couldn't see his face, but he looked old from behind. He gave my arm a strong pull, jerking our faces in front of each other's. "What are —” he stopped. It took him a while to speak again, "Watch who you're bumping into, love. There are several unpleasant men in the city that you would not want to mess with."
British. Excellent. "Don't try to be coy with me with your British accent, mister. And would you be so kind as to let go of my arm?"
He smirked. Dimples embedded into both his cheeks as he slowly released my arm. He looked down the arm to which he released, "Might leave a bruise, but you'll live." I gave him a scornful look before turning my back to him. First day in town and I already meet a d-bag. How much more of his kind is there around here?
The fast and loud footsteps from behind me caught my attention. I turned my head and saw that same man, trying to catch up with my pace, "I'm sorry, love. I forgot to introduce myself. Klaus," he said, pushing his hand towards me to shake. "Welcome to the city of New Orleans."
I stared down at it, not really sure what I should do. "I'm sorry. I don't talk to strangers."
He let out a throaty chuckle, "That's quite a reasonable argument, but I guarantee you that the awkwardness of this is merely temporary."
I raised an eyebrow, "I thought I told you to stop being coy with me? Let me help you get the big picture. When people walk away from you, it means that they’re not interested."
He made a playful squint on his face, "You seriously don't know who I am."
"I didn't know that it was my obligation to." Amusement spread across his face, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than to chat with you."
Again, I turned my back to Mr. Douche bag guy, but I swear that I heard him laugh before I left. I mentally rolled my eyes, already dreading the place. It wasn't really my dream to come and live in this city. I never even imagined myself in a place like this. Maybe Paris or Rome, but not here. Unfortunately, Q & S Journ is positioned here. It’s just the most amazing journalism firm I ever heard of and I badly want an internship with them. I’m planning to send in my resume some time during college, but I couldn’t contain the excitement.
I started working on my resume since I was in my sophomore year, but becoming Miss Mystic Falls doesn’t really help me get there. I need to have more experience with actual work.
“Good evening, Caroline.”
I smiled, “Oh my God! Finally a familiar face around here. Matt,” running over to the counter to give him a hug. Matt Donovan, he’s a handsome blue-eyed blond who I used to go to the same school with. He is three years older than I am, but he’s a really great friend of mine. Mystic Falls isn’t really a huge town. People mostly knew each other. “When do I start?”
Even if I didn’t like working in a supermarket, I didn’t really have much of a choice. Matt owns the place and it was very kind of him to offer me a job when I mentioned that I was trying to get part-time. I just hope that he doesn’t expect too much from me. I’m not really jubilant with the idea of working behind a cash register for a living.
“Caroline, you just got here, go explore the city. You can start next week. And isn’t Bonnie throwing you a welcoming party tonight? I’m sorry I can’t come. Vicki isn’t going to be back ‘til Friday and I can’t leave the place without anyone in charge.” He explained, watching over some of his workers carry boxes around. Vicki is her stoned younger sister, whom I dislike so much since 7th Grade. She used to bully me around, then when we started our junior year, she offered drugs to me and my friends. No wonder she’s a high school dropout.
I swatted my hand up and down in Matt’s face, “Stop being so uptight, Matt. Come on, let’s go grab that drink that you’ve always been offering me since my freshmen year.” I said, biting my lower lip, “And again when you visited town during my junior year. Then again when Bonnie and I came to visit you one year ago. And again when we saw each other, literally just 5 weeks ago.”
He laughed. Our friendship has always been a constant merry-go-around. He would ask me out and I’d shut him down. He’d find a new girlfriend, break up, and ask me out again. I’ve never had the courage to completely tell it in his face that I really didn’t see him that way. I was always kind of hoping that he would get the message through his head.
His eyes looked into mine as his laugh slowly faded. “Wait, are you serious? Because I could totally ask anyone to take charge while we go out.” I laughed, giving him a little nod. Honestly, at this point, I would go out on a drink with anyone that I know. It feels so lonely around here when you don’t know anyone. “Jeremy, get your ass over here and watch over these boys!”
I have never seen Matt so commanding before. Before he gone for college, I remember him being a soft hearted man with a gentle smile, but seeing him right now, I realize that being a business major in Whitmore University really changed him. Maybe it’s a necessity to be domineering once you get into the business world, considering everything is pretty much in your control.
The boy, Jeremy, came over and they talked a while before we left to find the nearest bar. He familiarized me with some of the places in this dark part of the city. The cool bars, the lame bars, the gay bars and the only 24/7 convenient store that sold liquids that subside hangovers.
The quarter is all booze and about the crazy wild life. There are dancing and strobe lights everywhere around the streets. Some bystanders walked in groups, I’m guessing by their looks that they are tourists. They walked over to a booth Matt referred to as silly poser fortune tellers. They didn’t look legit fortune tellers, not that I believe in supernatural junks.
Matt looked at me, “Ladies first,” he said, holding the door open for me. I gave him a smile and walked in. It was quiet inside. It is very unlike the scene that you’d witness outside. “Here,” he gestured towards a small booth at the back.
I sat down in a very ladylike manner. A very handsome waiter came to take our order. Matt ordered a pasta and a glass of champagne for himself and looked at me as he waited for me to order my meal. Nothing in the menu looked appealing, and I wasn’t hungry anyway. “One margarita with double the alcohol content, please. Thank you.”
The waiter nodded at us and left. Matt’s right arm was resting on the table, taking the weight of his upper body. His fingers kept twitching as if he was thinking twice about trying to move it. Seeing that slight movement made me realize what was going on in his mind. Apparently, my left hand, which was splayed across my side of the table, was inches near his. He must be contemplating about touching me. I took my hand back.
I saw disappointment flash across his eyes, betraying the weak smile that was playing on his lips. I felt unsettled now that I realized that he thinks this is a date. He must be so crushed inside seeing as I retrieved my hand. What was I going to do? I only cared about him as a friend. I didn’t know that he would take my offer for a drink as an official invitation.
The awesome thing about Matt is that even though I just shut him down again, he still kept the night going as if nothing happened. “I like it here. It’s quiet and nice. It reminds me of my shift at the Grill.”
“You come here often?” I asked, taking a sip at my margarita.
He nodded, “Yeah. It’s not entirely a lame bar because it is always packed during happy hour. Truth is, the good drinks here are too expensive that people only come around when the prices are down.”
This feels really nice, talking to a hometown buddy that I haven’t been able to catch up with for so long. It feels normal. I never thought that being new in a place can make someone feel so out of place, but moments like this make you realize that the people here are also human. At first, you might think they’re different because they’re too used to the city life, but when you get to know them, you’d realize that they are actually normal. It’s like how I thought that Matt has changed so much, yet now I recognize that same small town blue-eyed blond that I knew so well.
We chatted about his college experiences and all his girlfriend dramas over the past years. Over our food and drinks, he tried to sweet talk me a little, but I was too drunk to push him away. It just feels so high school.
He paid for our meal and walked me back home afterwards. Before leaving me on the front porch, he left a little kiss on my cheek. I smiled up at him, wanting to tell him that we’re just friends, but I didn’t really want to ruin the day for both of us. He headed back to the streets without looking back. I watched his back slowly fade into the distance.
I sighed, taking out my keys from my pocket. My hands moved to the doorknob. I turned it, realizing that it was left unlocked. My heart stopped. Is the party not yet over or did someone break in?
I quickly opened the door. There was nobody in sight. I ran upstairs, darting immediately to Bonnie’s room. “Bonnie!” I shouted. There was no reply from her. There were red cups and empty packs of chips everywhere, but I nonchalantly stepped over them, wanting nothing else than to know that my best friend is safe.
The door swung open as I turned the knob and pushed it with all my weight. There she was, quietly snoozing on her bed. I sighed in relief, “Thank God!” I made the sign of the cross and walked slowly over to her bed. I draped a blanket over her sleek body before going into the room bathroom. There was nobody inside. I left her room, locking the door on the inside, so that if there was an intruder, I would be sure that Bonnie’s safe.
I scoured the whole house and there didn’t seem to be anyone inside. Maybe the last person who left just forgot to lock the door. I mentally laughed at myself for even thinking about the possibility of there being an intruder. Silly of me!
My head was spinning with all the alcohol that I have had today. Have I made a mistake for going out with Matt tonight? Would he assume that I feel the same way about him? I hope not. I groaned in my head before bouncing myself onto my bed. This feels so weird. The first time in my life that I ever get out of town was to come here, New Orleans. I swear I made a promise to myself when I was 7 that the first place I would go to is Rome, but look at me now.
I sighed. Dreams never really come true, do they? I will never get the princess-like life that I want so badly. I will never find my prince charming who will sweep me off my feet. I closed my eyes. Images of my ex-boyfriends flickered to my mind. Maybe my prince charming already gone by without my knowledge. Or maybe, Matt is my prince, but I just never knew because I never gave him a chance.
I dreamt about my past lovers that night. Starting from my very first boyfriend in 9th grade up to my could-be boyfriend now, Matt. A loud crash from downstairs woke me up from my sleep. My mind quickly flew to the events from yesterday night; how the door was unlocked allowing anyone to have hid there the whole night, waiting to attack.
My legs swung themselves off the bed. I looked over to the table clock I placed on top of the many moving boxes. 9:45 am. I overslept!
I ran rapidly downstairs, only to find several men carrying furniture around. My skeptical look did not go unnoticed by the men, but they didn’t say a thing. I planned to find Bonnie in the house, but she was already sitting in the kitchen when I got there. “What’s with the moving boys?” I asked, making myself some coffee.
“It’s part of my parent’s graduation presents. The furniture, I mean, not the boys.” She laughed at the realization of her own joke. I laughed with her, “Where did you go last night? I wanted to introduce you to some of my good friends around town, but when I turned around to find you, you were gone. Where did you go?”
Bowing down my head in embarrassment, I said, “I went for a drink with Matt Donovan.” Slowly, I shot my head up to see her accusatory eyes, “I swear, it was friendly, but he doesn’t see it. It was fun though.”
She rolled her eyes, “Caroline Forbes, what’s fun is the welcoming party I threw you last night, which you bailed on! I worked so hard on that.” I raised an equally accusatory eyebrow at her, “Okay, Stefan worked so hard on that, but he was here. Many of our Mystic Falls buddies who moved to New Orleans were here. Stefan came, on my request, to come see how you’re adjusting. Guess what he came to find? Nothing, because you disappeared!”
Stefan Salvatore is one of my coolest guy friends ever. He’s so fun and light headed all the time that he makes it hard for anyone not to have fun around him. He’s a very distant relative of Bonnie who visited her once over summer break. The two of us became very close friends and have been keeping in touch, but he’s working on his law degree in Harvard, so it was a huge favor for him to have come all the way just to see how I was settling in.
God knows how much I love Stefan as a friend and I feel terrible to have missed his visit. I sighed, slumping onto the chair beside Bonnie, “I’m a bad friend.” She laughed and gave me a side hug saying, “Yes, but you’re our Caroline. And we love you for that.”
I smiled. The fact that I had great people surrounding me makes me feel so relieved. I didn’t always feel this loved. My parents separated when I was at a young age. My Dad turned out to be gay and that’s unfortunate, especially since he never came to visit me. He remarried a man named Steven — in a wedding I didn’t attend. I’ve been living with my Mom ever since. She is the Sheriff of our town, which makes her super overprotective about me but we’re super close.
I recall all the great times I’ve had back home. The dances, prom, Miss Mystic Falls Pageants, founder’s parties and of course, who could forget Friday’s at the Grill? I miss having all those high school stuff to worry about.
Bonnie and I spent the whole day settling my things into the house. By dawn, we were done and we wanted to go out and eat. There wasn’t specifically a place that we wanted to eat at because we were both starving and anything could satisfy the cravings. We both decided to dine at the bar that Matt and I went to. And surprisingly, Matt wasn’t lying. Happy hour does attract several guests. The whole bar was packed.
Bonnie asked, “I don’t know what your version of dinner is, but I’m really not in the mood to party right now. I’m too tired.” I nodded, “Me too. Let’s just get take out.”
Both of us ordered from a female server and sat down at one of the tables to wait. Suddenly this guy come towards us, offering us each a glass of red wine. “I’m sorry. I don’t drink,” Bonnie said.
I literally laughed inside my head. Bonnie Bennett is most definitely not the type of person to strike down drinks! I gave the man a smile, “Not to be rude, but you’re really blocking my view of that really cute guy over there.” I said, pointing to the open bar. “You should just go,” finishing my sentence with a very high school girl smile.
Shamed with humiliation, he turned on his heels, cursing as he went. A chuckle escaped the lips of the brown beauty beside me, “You literally just crushed that man’s spirit. Poor guy.”
I rolled my eyes, “A poor guy wouldn’t come straight to two incredibly hot girls and offer drinks! A poor guy would make a gesture of chivalry and ask one of us on a real date just to get shut down. That’s a poor guy. He,” I said, pointing to the direction the man turned to, “is an asshole, trying to take advantage of two young girls.”
She laughed, “I couldn’t help but imagine Matt’s face as the poor guy.”
I frowned. She’s right. I’ve been such a bitch to him. Asking him out like that even though I didn’t feel the same way? It’s rude and selfish. I shouldn’t have done it. “I feel sorry for Matt. I’ve been taking advantage of him.” Maybe I should find a new job. It’s very unfair of me to accept something from him when I couldn’t give anything in return. “Is it proper if I look for a new job? I don’t want it to get awkward at work. And I don’t want it to seem like I’m using him.”
“You’re not using him, Care. You’re both friends and he’s generous, but if you really care about him, then it may be best for you to go job hunting for the next two weeks.”
I agreed. It was already pass midnight by the time our order came out. When we reached the house carrying our take outs, there was a huge box in the front porch that took us both by surprise. I took hold of it before entering the threshold. Dropping it onto the floor, I slipped out the letter that was tucked between the ribbon and the box. There was an elegant scripture of my name on the envelope, ‘Caroline Forbes’.
I opened it and read it aloud for Bonnie, who had a skeptical look on her face, to hear, “PLEASE JOIN THE Mikaelson Family THIS EVENING AT SEVEN O’CLOCK FOR DANCING, COCKTAILS & CELEBRATION.” I paused to stare at my friend, “Who the hell are the Mikaelson’s?”
A glint of excitement touched Bonnie eyes, “Oh my god. They’re just the only people in the city that is close to royalty.”
“Did you get an invitation?” I asked.
“Yes. They’ve been handing those out since yesterday evening, but only the locals or the rich get to have one. I knew a few people who had connections and they invited me. I’m just so surprised that they addressed this one to you when you don’t even know anyone around.”
Surprising as it sounds, this invitation wakes a part in me that I haven’t been in touch with for a while. I’m actually going to a ball! “I guess I just got lucky. Maybe Matt has something to do with it.” The more reasons to start looking for a new job. “I feel like a gold digger. Why does he have to be so well connected?” I shouted.
We tried to swallow in our dinner for the night, but with the recent surprise of the invitation, neither of us really had the appetite. I cleaned myself after dinner, wrapping my body in my favorite pink bathrobe when I finished. Getting out, I remembered forgetting to tell Bonnie about the door the other night. I quickly hopped down the stairs. “Bonnie!”
She was sitting on the couch with a big, ancient book in her hands. She set down the book beside her when she heard my voice. I sat down at her side, “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Yesterday night, when I got in, the door wasn't locked. Did you make sure everyone got out when you called it a night?” I asked.
She bit her lower lip, “Actually, what really happened last night was that Stefan and I fell asleep waiting for you to come back. When I woke up in the morning today, he was gone. Maybe he forgot to lock the door?”
My lips pressed into a hard line, “Maybe.” I sighed. I should really give him a call tomorrow. My eyes wandered the living room. It landed on the box that I brought in from a while ago. I stood up. I felt Bonnie’s eyes on my back. “Matt really shouldn't have,” I said, taking off the lid of the box.
“What is it?” she asked, getting up from the couch after me.
My jaw dropped. It was a beautiful sheer sleeveless cerulean gown that had an amazing bead work around its waist. It shows just the right amount of cleavage for an innocent girl. There was a pair of silky white gloves inside with it, and a silver-glittered shawl to match. My stomach started turning. This is so romantic of Matt — which makes me feel even worse about myself.
I pursed my lips, turning around to look at my friend’s reaction. Her face was blank. I’m very certain that she’s just as surprised as I am. What am I going to do? If I didn’t go, it would be rude. If I did go, it would make Matt assume that I am giving him a chance. Even after all this effort that he has put on, I don't feel flutters in my stomach.
For some unapparent reason, I don't find these gestures romantic. Yes, it’s lovely and it could make any other girl swoon. However, the man being Matt just doesn't make me feel in love. “What am I going to do?” I muttered to Bonnie.
She shrugged her shoulders, placing one arm on mine. “You'll figure it out. You're Caroline Forbes.” She gave me an encouraging smile as I returned it with a small smile of my own.
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