A Normal Life

"One more time guys! Let's get this right!" Caroline shouted from the front of the group.

It was a hot day in April, and the Mystic Falls cheerleading squad were preparing for the final game of the regular season. If the football team won this game, they would go to the first round of the Virginia Championships, and it was their responsibility to cheer them on and get them into game spirit.

Caroline hadn't felt this good in ages in spite of everything that had happened; her father dying, being one of her biggest problems, Rebekah tormenting her on a daily basis, not being able to see Tyler, and of course the original family being reunited again only stirred up even more trouble for Caroline. But after being deprived of a simple life for months on end, Caroline loved every moment of 'normal' she could get. Her blonde hair was thrown up in a messy pony tail, the sweat making her t-shirt stick to her and out of breath, she'd never felt better.

She focused on the routine, leading the group into correct posture. She cleared her mind. No drama, no idiotic vampires, no stupid schemes. Just step, turn, jump, and flip. Caroline performed it perfectly, everyone in awe of her elegant form.

Rebekah eyed her rather suspiciously, like she always did. Ever since she joined the squad, she made Caroline's life a living hell, but she couldn't blame her; everyone wanted to captain the cheerleading team, but Caroline was far more motivated then any one of them, and therefore more suited for the job. There was no way Rebekah could steal that away from her. Because of Caroline and her creative laidback style, the cheerleading squad actually performed some pretty decent moves.

They finished early for the day because of the heat, and Caroline didn't like the idea of working her team too hard. Usually the blonde didn't mind the heat or even the humidity, but today was just ungodly. She was thankful for the daylight ring otherwise she'd be in ashes right about now.

Caroline walked over to the side benches, grabbing a clean towel to dry her sweaty forehead. "Wanna go for a run with me?" Caroline asked one of the girls. Every day after practice, she went for a run around campus and down the back roads of town before heading home. Usually she went for about three miles, sometimes four or five if she really needed to clear her head. It was also a good way to control her hunger. Once in a while Elena would meet up with her and tag along, but usually everyone else was too exhausted from practice.

"Are you serious?" the girl replied her face scrunched up. "We've just been practicing for over an hour, and you want to work out?" Caroline was a little taken aback. It wasn't that bad getting a little more out of the evening. "So I'll take that as a no?" "That's a no," she responded grabbing her bag and placing it over her shoulder.

"Maybe next time then." The girl scoffed shaking her head, turning back towards the school.

Caroline shrugged her shoulders grabbing a water bottle and taking a sip. She placed it in her duffle bag that was lying on the bench where she would retrieve it on her way back. It was still quite warm in the afternoon, the sun shining down through the trees, casting a golden glow over the entire town of Mystic Falls.

She started off with a fast paced walk.

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"Someone caught your attention, dear brother?" Klaus merely stated since he knew it was true. Kol folded his arms across his chest, "You could say that." He'd been watching a particular vampire girl on the sidelines with a keen eye, intrigued by her determination and elegance. "I'm not sure if it's the blonde hair or the very provocative top." Klaus smirked, he definitely wasn't disgusted with the new invention of the crop top girls always seemed to enjoy wearing.

"Rebekah would be touched," Klaus teased. Kol looked at him in disbelief, "Not her you psycho, the pretty little head cheerleader. Now she's an eyeful." Klaus nodded his head in approval. He also had kept a keen eye on her lately; she was a woman of many talents.

They both were leaning against the fence, patiently waiting for their sister to finish. Kol insisted on coming with Rebekah because anywhere was better than being cooped up in that house, and of course Klaus wanted to tag along only to supervise his younger sibling, all of a sudden feeling like the affectionate supporting brother. But he knew how reckless and foolish Kol could be.

Caroline hadn't noticed them both watching her as she started to casually power-walk around the sport's oval to get herself warmed up. Rebekah approached the two brothers, a towel in one hand with a drink bottle in the other. She was still panting, tired from the workout, but she'd eventually recover soon enough.

"Had fun Rebekah?" Klaus asked her. He couldn't see why she wasted her time with such trivial high school sports.

"Yes, it was quite stimulating," Rebekah answered, taking a sip from her drink bottle, "Gets a lot off my mind, you know the whole dagger in my heart thing; you should try it sometime." Klaus rolled his eyes, making his frustration obvious. His family insisted on constantly blaming him for everything, after all the things he'd done for them.

"Urgh, pass," Klaus responded. Kol was ignoring their conversation and still watching the stunning blonde vampire girl out on the field.

"So what were you two birdbrains doing during practise?" Rebekah asked her brothers.

"I was actually admiring your lovely vampire friend, what was her name again?" Kol asked turning to Klaus. He responded with, "Caroline."

"Ah, Caroline," Kol reacted in content. Rebekah scoffed clearly not amused by her brother's attraction. "She's not my friend; I don't make it a habit to be friends with a vampire bitch."

"You sound a tad jealous," Kol taunted. Rebekah opened her mouth slightly but closed it again unable to find a suitable response. So she merely flicked her hair out of her face and looked away from her two brothers, annoyed at the both of them. Sometimes she despised being the only girl amongst her brothers.

Kol noticed Caroline head off the school's campus, down a secluded road. "Where's she going?" Kol asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "She goes running after practice every so often," Rebekah stated.

"Does she now?" Kol grinned. This was a good opportunity he would not let pass up. "If you two would excuse me, I got some…pressing issues to attend to." And with that Kol disappeared in a flash, leaving his two siblings behind.

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The Stranger

Caroline's heart raced as she neared the top of the long-graded hill she had been pushing up. This road was the ideal place for her because, even though it was narrow, it was also well-paved and there was rarely a car to be seen. It gave her a chance to clear her mind. The buildings on either side also raised high enough to block out the sun, so she didn't have to worry about being too hot or burning to a crisp.

Usually she'd have earplugs in her ears and blast music with a nice steady rhythm, unafraid that she'd miss the sound of an approaching car even worse, a garbage truck. But without the music, she could clearly hear anything from a mile radius, including the slight whisper of her name being called from behind her. She stopped suddenly and turned around, looking back down the alley way.

"Hello?" She called out, her voice slightly echoing. Caroline took a few deep breaths through her nose to try to slow the erratic pace of her heart and lungs. She'd been running much faster today than normal. But that was understandable, something weird happened almost everyday of her life, including now.

"Caroline, isn't it?"

Swiftly turning to her left, she saw a young man leaning against the brick wall, dark eyes staring straight at her. "Uh…yeah," Caroline looked at him a bit closer, and noticed a few of his recognizable features. She couldn't quite pin-point where she'd seen him before, but that cold stare was a huge reminder.

"You look familiar, do I know you?" She spoke promptly a bit suspicious. He got up from his leaning stance and walked closer towards her.

"That depends, I've met a lot of people, and I think I'd remember a pretty face like yours." He reached out and touched the side of her cheek, but she quickly slapped it away. The young man didn't seem bothered by it, so he casually circled around her. "Then how do you know my name," she responded harshly.

"I've have my sources." He circled back round to face her, eyes staring into hers.

Caroline knew in a matter of seconds she could run away at full speed, but something kept her there. He gave off a dangerous yet seductive vibe, that she couldn't quite tell the difference between the two. And then she noticed a ring on his finger, similar to hers. In that moment she realised.

"Vampire…" she whispered unintentionally, instantly regretting it. He narrowed his eyes slightly, but his confidence never faltered. "Nice work detective. Figured that out all by yourself?" Caroline frowned at his sarcastic comment.

"Go screw yourself," she replied angrily. Caroline assumed the vampire would eventually become irritated, and just walk away, but he managed to keep a cheerful look on his face, showing his obviously arrogant and cocky attitude. "Wow, snarky little vamp aren't we."

"Stay away from me whoever you are," she warned. The vampire lifted his hands in the air, showing his surrender, a cheeky smirk planted on his face.

"Now why would I do that?" He went to grab her wrist, but Caroline reacted without thinking. She pushed him up against the wall taking him by surprise, and in an instant snapped his neck with no problem whatsoever. He dropped to the ground with a thump, his neck loosely flopping to the side.

Caroline finally breathed out a breath she had been holding. She reached down and lifted up the hem of her pants. A wooden stake was taped to her leg, a precaution she always made in case something like this happened. She ripped it off her skin, throwing the tape to the side.

The body started to flinch, which meant he would wake up any second. Caroline firmly grabbed the stake and drove it through his most vulnerable spot. The heart. It was a necessary thing to do. Who knows how many innocent people the vampire had killed or was going to kill?

His face went grey, veins exposing onto his skin. She pulled the stake out, and lifted up his body, throwing it into the garbage disposal nearby. Caroline smiled to herself. A job well done she thought. That'd teach him for messing around with Caroline.

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Kol trudged through the door slamming it hard behind him. He almost fell over against the door, still weak from the stake being driven into his heart. Klaus briefly looked up from his sketch but continued what he was doing, acting like everything was perfectly normal. He smiled as Kol marched angrily across the room.

"Rough day?" Klaus didn't even know why he bothered asking. Curiosity perhaps?

"Yeah, you could say that," he responded, taking off his jacket that was covered in compost and placing it on the coat rack. "I was having a pleasant conversation with the lovely Caroline and then, out of nowhere, she snapped my neck and staked me." Klaus's smiled widened even more. He knew Caroline's reaction to Kol's charming personality would be somewhat…unpleasant. He rather hoped. Caroline was someone he admired, and he didn't get that too often. Most girls these days have a rather aggressive attitude. Klaus found that out the hard way, so he often stayed away from any complicated situations.

"Your problem Kol, is that you're too forward with women. It's not the 1900s anymore, women aren't as easily seduced." Kol rolled his eyes, not believing Klaus was giving him advice about women.

"Yeah, but I could have died," Kol complained. He jumped onto the couch, not even caring how dirty his clothes were, legs dangling over the side. "But you didn't," Klaus pointed out. He looked back at his sketch and started carefully shading in the refection of the window.

"Yeah but she didn't know I was an original. So she knew I would die." Kol looked over at his brother that was grinning like a little child. "What are you smiling at?"

"Oh, nothing," Klaus stated. Kol scoffed looking at him in disbelief. His brother was no help; it was as if Klaus wanted Caroline to hate him. "Wait a minute…" Kol started, sitting up from the couch. "You knew she'd react this way. You knew she'd immediately dismiss me." Something immediately clicked. Now Kol knew why Klaus was acting the way he had been.

"Believe what you like brother," Klaus uttered casually.

"Aaahh," Kol realised, reading right through Klaus, "You like her…" Klaus looked at him in surprise, but kept perfectly calm, not letting his expression drop any hints about his attraction for Caroline.

"You really have gone mental Kol," he responded, casually brushing the subject off. But of course his brother wouldn't leave it alone, another annoying trait about him. Kol was never the one to back down so easily.

"C'mon, just admit it. I mean, what's not to like about her?" Kol beamed at the sight of his brother so uncomfortable. Klaus sighed. "If I admit it, would you leave it alone?" Kol shrugged his shoulders, still smiling at his older brother. "Maybe," was all he responded with.

"Fine, I do admire Caroline somewhat…" Klaus admitted.

"I knew it." Klaus put down his drawing, and faced Kol.

"How did you know?" He asked, very curious about his brother's sudden change in intelligence.

"I saw the package on the dining table that was addressed to Caroline. It had a rather lovely ball gown in it…" Kol explained.

"Your point?" Klaus was wondering where this was leading to, Kol always had an ulterior motive.

"Nothing, I was just curious that's all." Kol's expression said otherwise. He was always up to something, but Klaus could never figure it out. Kol could read Klaus like an open book, but Klaus would always have to assume stuff that ran through Kol's mind was actually sane.

"I have an idea," Kol suggested. Klaus raised his head at Kol, knowing full well that when his brother had an idea, it always involved him. "But…you have to do it with me." And there it was, Kol being so predictable but Klaus on the other hand being easily manipulated.

"This can't be good," Klaus assumed.

"It's nothing too bad," assured Kol, looking a bit too chirpy. Klaus knew that look Kol had on his face…it was the one that he always wore before he did something to really mess things up. "But don't go telling anyone."

"Fine…what is it?"

"Just a little contest, you know, to make things interesting." At those words, Klaus perked up a little in interest. He always loved a good competition, because he loved the idea of winning. "How bout we keep journals too. Recount every embarrassing moment you make. And compare notes when it's over." Klaus frowned at his comment. What was Kol planning?

"So how bout it brother? Will you do it?" Kol asked.

"Are you gonna tell me what it is first?" Klaus wasn't stupid; he didn't want to agree to it beforehand without knowing full well what he was getting himself into. "Why, are you afraid?" Kol smiled at his own comment, noticing Klaus tense up a little.

"Kol…" Klaus warned.

"Alright alright…it's simple, the first one to get a kiss from Caroline, wins," Kol explained. Klaus smiled, knowing full well he had this one. "And a kiss on the cheek doesn't count. It has to be real."

Klaus contemplated whether or not to do the contest. He didn't want to agree to one of Kol's games again, it always ended badly for him. But refusing would be cowardice, and Klaus was not a coward. It wasn't like him to back down from anything, even if it was one of Kol's stupid games. So what was he going to do?

"Alright then I'm in."

A/N: IMPORTANT – Okay, so here's how it's gonna work. If you go into my profile, there will be a poll. Each chapter I will make a new poll and you have to vote in the poll about what happens next in the story. That's right, you, my fellow readers will have an effect on how the story goes.

The poll will include stuff like, who you want the chapter to be based on, any plotlines, sentences etc.

At the end of each chapter I will post the results of the poll that helped form that chapter. If no one votes I will be sad, but I will continue writing :) And I apologise if things seemed to move along too fast in this chapter, I just wanted to start it off straight away.