30 Days Left
Caroline wakes up with a throbbing headache. Her fingertips pinch the bridge of her nose as she sits up from her bed, peering around the room. It's her normal apartment, and everything is as usual, but something is off, and she just can't put her finger on it.
She shrugs it off, instead focusing on getting ready. She lets the shower faucet run for a few seconds to heat up as she stares herself down in the mirror.
Her eyes are tired, red and blotchy from possibly crying but she just doesn't remember about what. Her mind hurts as she attempts to recall the last few hours of her life, only to come to the realization that she in fact can't remember the last few hours and days clearly.
Her breathing quickens, but she shakes her head, blaming it on a possible late night of drinking that she somehow forgot entirely of. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened after all...
She sends a quick text to Elena, and then to Bonnie, both stating the same thing:
Was I with you last night?
Caroline then proceeds to jump in the shower, letting the hot water run down her bare body, as if mending the numerous scars running down her arm which she also can't recall how they ended up there. Her fingertips trace the red marks and she sighs.
Caroline takes her time, lathering her hair with fruity smelling shampoo and conditioner.
Her head suddenly aches as a memory floods into her mind: "Mhm, your hair smells good today, love. Did you use a new shampoo?"
She jumps, the stranger's words in her mind replaying over and over. What- who was that?
She quickly finishes up in the shower, turning the water off and changing into some black skinny jeans and an off the shoulder blue sweater.
She scans the text messages, first from Elena:
No, why?
Caroline quickly replies:
I don't really know, just me at the coffee house, k?
She then checks Bonnie's text, praying to God that she says they got drunk together to stop her frantic worrying about not being able to remember anything. Her face drops when she reads the text:
Nope, I was with Elena. Why? Everything ok?
Caroline responds:
Come to the coffee house, something's wrong I think.
She pulls on her black boots, shaking her head dismissively at her worried thoughts as she heads outside of her apartment, locking her door behind her. She makes her way down the street to a local coffee shop Elena, Bonnie, and her always go to.
When she enters the quaint little place, Elena and Bonnie are already sitting at the table basically known as their table since they sit at it so frequently. Caroline gives a gentle smile, only to receive concerned stares back.
"Is everything okay, Care? Your texts sounded urgent," Bonnie questions, her tone serious.
Caroline takes a seat, thanking Elena as she hands her a much needed cup of coffee. She sips it down, well, gulps it down, hoping the caffeine helps her to wake up a bit.
"So?" Elena asks impatiently.
Caroline puts down her coffee, "I'm sorry if I worried you, it's just... something feels off. I don't know what it is, but all I know is that I woke up this morning with no memory of what happened yesterday."
Elena practically giggles at this, "something tells me you got completely wasted."
Caroline frowns at her joking manner, "I'm serious."
The smile disappears from Elena's face at Caroline's tone of voice.
"Are you sure you didn't just get drunk?" Bonnie asks, to which Caroline takes offense to because no she doesn't know but asking her over and over isn't going to help.
"I don't know, that's why I asked you two if I was with you. Look, it sounds stupid but something is going on. My head was throbbing, which made me think it was a hangover, but then something weird happened when I was showering," she trails off, her eyes flickering off into the distance, her mind going elsewhere as she replays the words again, over and over.
"Caroline?" Bonnie snaps her out of her trance.
"Sorry, what?"
"What happened?" Elena asks for her, their eyes fixated on Caroline.
"It was like a memory of some sort, I don't really know. I just know it was a guy asking someone, maybe me, if they used a new shampoo. He said it smelled good. I can't remember ever hearing anyone say it to me, but I also can't remember what happened for the past week, so how would I know?" Caroline rubs her temple, groaning because she sounds insane when saying it out loud.
"Well that's... odd. Why would you suddenly remember a guy telling you your hair smelled good?" Elena furrows her brows, arms crossed.
"I was washing my hair at the time, maybe it triggered a memory or something? I don't know, I'm just exhausted and my head kills."
Bonnie speaks up finally, "look, Care, maybe you just need some sleep, okay? Call off work, take a day off for yourself. Chances are you're just overthinking this, you probably just got drunk and hooked up with a guy. Maybe he was the one who told you your hair smelled good and you're just now remembering it. Don't worry, okay? Everything's fine."
Caroline nods at this, smiling because Bonnie somehow always knows what to say to make her feel better. There is a small part of her which still feels genuinely confused, but she pushes the feeling down.
"Thanks, guys. I'm sorry I dragged you out here so early. I'm probably just being paranoid as usual," she smiles sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
Elena grins, "what are best friends for?"
"Alright, I'm gonna head out. Love you guys, thanks for the coffee," Caroline waves, and the girls smile back, returning the gesture as she exits the coffee shop.
Just before she can fully walk out, a firm body clumsily topples into her, nearly causing her to tumble over. However, a strong arm holds her up, gently placed behind her back.
When Caroline looks up, she's met with icy green blue eyes, which turn soft when meeting her gaze.
"Sorry about that, love," his voice cuts the awkward tension as he easily brings her back up to her feet with ease.
Caroline stands, patting down her sweater to fix the creases as she offers a small smile to the tall, curly haired man, "oh it's fine."
He sends a dashing smirk her way, dimples on display which nearly cause her heart to swell, "are you okay?"
She brings herself out of her small trance, butterflies in her belly as she looks up at him again, "yeah, I'm fine. Are you?"
She feels like she's in middle school again, talking to a cute boy. Caroline feels the blush spread across her cheeks and curses herself because it's clearly noticeable which only makes her cheeks redden more.
"Considering I bumped into a beautiful girl by chance? I'm not doing too bad," he chuckles and she shivers, the sound so familiar she swears she's met him before.
She stumbles on her words, "are you usually this flirty with girls you almost send toppling to the ground?"
"Only beautiful ones like you."
Well then, she thinks, mad at herself that this guy is causing her to feel so giddy. She's hit on all the time, but this for some reason is different. There's something... sweet about it.
"How many times did you say that to yourself in the mirror?" Caroline teases, playing on her flirty yet hard to get side.
He laughs, "Can I buy you a coffee?"
She gives him a hesitant look.
"Come on, it's my treat for nearly shoving you to the ground," he gives her puppy dog eyes and she holds in a giggle.
"Can't, I just had a coffee with my friends, sorry."
He rolls his eyes, "okay, then at least come to my party tomorrow night. It'll be fun, trust me."
She scoffs playfully, "and how do I know you're not some creepy murderer trying to lure me into his home to kill me, hm? I don't even know your name."
"Klaus Mikaelson, and yours?"
Caroline freezes, the name triggering another memory of some sort:
"Screw you, Klaus. I don't even know why I came here."
It's her voice, which scares the living daylights out of her, but also intrigues her immensely. She wants to believe she just got drunk last night and that's why she can't remember anything, but something tells her it's not as easy as that.
What if he's involved somehow with what's happening?
She needs to know.
"Caroline Forbes."
"That's a beautiful name," he smiles and she blushes.
"So, Caroline Forbes, will you come to my party tomorrow night? I swear I won't murder you," he jokes and for some reason, she trusts him like she's known him forever.
"I'll think about it," she ends up saying, a small smirk playing at her lips.
Klaus looks down at Caroline and simply smiles, handing her his phone to put in her number to which she does.
"I'll text you the address," he informs her.
Caroline nods, "sounds good."
"I hope to see you there," he winks which practically makes her heart skip a beat, before heading off down the street.
• • •
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