Bad Blood || The Vampire Diaries [1]

24: Dangerous Liaisons

   "Please join the Mikaelson family, this evening at seven o'clock for dancing, cocktails, and celebration," I read out loud, pacing across the room. "And in the back it says: save me a dance. Yours, Klaus."

   "Wow," Caroline muttered, staring as I moved back and forth in front of her. "I-I'm shocked, honestly. Okay, not really. I sort of expected him to invite you."

   "You expected him to invite me?" I stopped and stared at her, blinking several times. "Why? Why would you expect big bad Klaus to invite me, personally, of course."

   "Because he is your friend?" She sounded as if she were asking me, as if she were unsure. "Ugh, Clara, he's clearly in your friends list, just like we all are. You care for him, he cares for you in a more-than-a-friend king of way."

   "You think Klaus likes me?"

   "Well, he did tell you to save him a dance," she said, and picked up the box that was laying next to her. "And he gave you this beautiful dress for you to wear! Oh, and let's not forget all of those memories he compelled and then Rebekah returned. If that doesn't say 'I like you,' then I don't know what."

   "Do you want it?" I then asked, laying the invitation on her bed. "Care, do you want the dress?"

   "What?" She stared at me with big, surprised eyes. "No, no! I can't take it. Klaus gave it to you!"

   "I feel weird if I wear it," I mumbled, looking down at the dress. It was a combination of dark and light blue, silver sequins on the bodice. The dress was in fact beautiful, but I felt as if it would not look well on me. On Caroline, on the other hand. "Care, it would look wonderful on you!"

   "Then what will you wear to this twisted Cinderella ball?" she asked, making a face. "Clara, I don't want to leave you without a dress."

   I moved to the closet and walked to the end, and saw a bagged dress hanging right at the end. With definite care, I gently pulled the dress out and showed it to Caroline with a wide grin. "I'm gonna wear this," I said. "What do you think?"

   "Oh my god!" she gasped, grabbing the dress and squealing a bit. "Okay, you can have Klaus's dress, I want this one."

   "Ha, ha," I sarcastically laughed and pulled the dress from her hands gently. "There's no way. My fairy godmother is a Lebanese designer and I'm not giving that up for a dress from Klaus."

   "Isn't it a bit daring, though?" Caroline asked as I sat the dress on the bed. "I mean, what would Damon think?"

   "Oh, screw what Damon will think!" I suddenly snapped, surprising myself. "I honestly don't care what he thinks anymore."

   "How is it that you do it?" she quietly asked, following my movements. "How do you forget so easily about things? I still think of the night I killed that guy, and it haunts me every moment. How is it that you forget so easily?"

   I thought back to what Elijah Mikaelson had taught me: to push everything behind a red door and clean myself up, that way whatever I had pushed behind the door could not harm me. It was like an event, reoccurring many times in my lifetime. Something bad happened, something hurtful, and I would push it as far as it would go and ignore every single feeling that came with it.

   I sighed and turned to Caroline, and gave her a small smile. "It's easy, but I think it pulls me away from my humanity every single moment I do it," I said. "I do something, I push it back, and I do it again with the same amount of pain. And, it doesn't bother me that much because I know that I can push it back and forget about it until I decide to bring it back."