Carpe Diem || KLAUS MIKAELSON

3] TO SKIN A CAT

Having Dawn Beauchamp disappointed in you was much worse than having her as an enemy, or so Phoebe was about to find out.

She had barely spoken to her all morning, only to give both her and her brother the news of the newly established town-imposed curfew.

The hunter was still on the loose and as Phoebe's latest nightmares prompted her to think, killing vampires at an increasing rate.

Tyler Lockwood, the mayor's son who'd been shot mere days ago at the memorial, was supposedly back on his feet but not allowed back in school just yet.

However, Jake and Phoebe were unwillingly taking his place as unsuspecting victims and officially starting their first day mid-semester at the unruly Mystic High.

Jake pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the school and looked over at the swirling mass of students walking toward the gates.

The building was much smaller in perspective than their previous school, and looked more roguish, but Mystic Falls seemed to lack in capacity as well, especially when it came to suspicious animal attacks.

Jake left the car first, prompting Phoebe to follow him begrudgingly. She exited through her side of the car and he locked the doors without looking back, using his long legs to carry him toward the gates.

She finally caught up with him, panting and out of breath, when he neared the entrance, only to stop him there.

''What?'' he groaned, stumbling back into her harshly.

Feeling acutely self-aware under his burning gaze, Phoebe nervously adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder, ''Are you okay?'' she tried, ''We havn't talked all morning. Even in the car you were-''
''I'm fine.''
Pushing past her, he reached the building and strolled inside confidently while his sister trailed after him, desperately trying to plead her case.

Unsurprisingly, Jake caught every neighboring curious gaze, but instead of feeling uncomfortable or even empowered, he sauntered forward in search of the only thing he cared about, the locker he'd been given.

Phoebe did the same but strolled toward the opposite wall, finding a hallway between her own locker from her brother's.
She twisted the lock so as to enter the right combination and pulled the door open with a rusty click, try as she might to ignore everyone's lingering gaze.

She reached for her bag hastily and proceeded to empty its contents, nearing the end of her task when her hand brushed over the coolest trinket. Yet, the feeling sent a jolt of the brightest warmth through her, vibrating in her chest and bouncing off her ribcage, descending all the way to her toes. This feeling was simply indescribable.

The wave of warmth went as it came as she dropped her bag, her chest heaving with every new bated breath she took.

She glanced down, cheeks undeniably flushed, finding her open bag with nearly all its contents spilled on the floor. Surrounding eyes were on her, observing her carefully, but she found that she genuinely didn't care; her sole focus was on this moment and what would happen next.

Her heart was fluttering sporadically in her chest by the time her eyes fell on it.

There, hidden between two tubes of chapstick at the bottom of her bag, seated the oddly intriguing book she'd started reading many sleepless nights ago.

Her eyes narrowed on their own and her finger traced the same silver letter again, another jolt of electricity coursing through her, prickling in the tip of her finger. It was like a spell -the most delicious of spells. She felt drawn to it, more than she'd ever been drawn to anything else, and yet, she couldn't shake the sudden fleeting feeling of dread she could feel lurking beneath her unhinged joy.