Tangled Fate

Masquerade

March 24. 2010

Caroline Forbes walked into the fairly busy Mystic Grill and she stopped a couple feet away from the door, her eyes automatically finding Matt and she stalking his every move. Matt happened to be busting the nearby table and found himself on the receiving end of the blonde's intense stare. The blue eyed human shifted uncomfortable, trying to squash the bubble of hope that surged in his gut at the sight of his ex-girlfriend who dumped him out of the blue.

"Do you need a table?" Matt hesitantly questioned, obvious confusion as to why she was there plastered on his face.

"No, I'm not staying. I just needed to use the little girls' room." Caroline blurted out before scampering away, her face red as tomato in mortification. Now she had to go to the bathroom. She rolled her eyes frustratingly and mentally smacked herself on the forehead.

Caroline sighed heavily as she turned on the tap water in the girl's bathroom. She was disappointed. She hated what she and Matt had become and in the moment as she washed her hands she looked up into the mirror to see Louise and Elena but this time she knew this was Vivienne and Katherine however she'll play along.

"Elena? Louise?"

"Hey, I saw you with Matt, are you okay?" Katherine asking, giving her now slightly perfected Elena impersonation, faux concern dripping in her voice.

"Yeah, you know...whatever." Caroline mumbled, attempting to flash past them with superspeed but Vivienne was too quick, grabbing a handful of the newbie's blonde curls and yanking her back.

"You're good." Vivienne complimented with a smirk on her face. Her smirk only deepened when she saw the frightened look on the blonde's face. "What gave us away? Was it the hair?" she questioned, twisting her own tight curls, then tilted her head. "Or was it my clothes?"

"I know Elena and Louise are—" She stuttered, eyes darting nervously between the older vampires. "I know Elena and Louise are at home."

"We need you to deliver a message. Tell Damon and Stefan that we want the moonstone or we will rip this town apart until it rains blood." Katherine said and Caroline swallowed hard.

Vivienne promptly added. "Tonight, at the masquerade ball."

━ ➶ 𓆉｡˚ ✧ ༉‧₊˚. ━

Jenna was finally home from the hospital, looking battered but stubborn. On either side of her, Jeremy and Matt acted as human crutches, their arms wrapped tightly around her as they guided her limping frame toward the Gilbert front door. Elena trailed behind, buried under a mountain of "get well soon" bouquets and teddy bears, while Louise hurried ahead to twist the key and throw the door wide.

Jenna let out a weary groan at the spectacle. "Hey, stop fussing. I'm fine."

"We're just worried about you, Jenna." Louise said, offering a soft, encouraging smile. "The doctors were pretty clear about you taking it easy."

"Yeah, you don't want to rip your stitches, haemorrhage, and die, right?" Jeremy added with the bluntness only a teenage nephew could manage. He and Matt carefully navigated her down the foyer steps into the living room.

"The only thing I'm going to die from is embarrassment." Jenna joked weakly.

The group shared a small, tense chuckle. "No chance." Matt said.

"I walked into a knife." Jenna said, her smile fading into genuine disbelief. "How does somebody even do that?"

Louise's gaze dropped to the floor, a cold wave of guilt washing over her. Images of Katherine's smirk and the flash of steel that night flickered behind her eyes. She forced the memory back into a dark corner of her mind and looked up with a strained smile.