Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or any of its characters.

A/N: Hello, readers! After I finished my most recent fic "Tale as Old as Time," I began writing this fic. It's my first AU/AH and I'm so excited! I already have the entire story outlined and it's my longest one so far. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it :D

P.S. I'd like to give a BIG thanks to Eilidh for listening to me talk about this fic for months without getting annoyed and giving me suggestions and just being amazing! And I'd also like to thank Yana for demanding that I post this and being so great that I can't even!

Enjoy :D

-xxx-

If you asked Caroline Forbes to describe what she imagined her senior year to be like three years ago, she would've said something along the lines of partying, fun, and boys. Now, however, with a barely acceptable GPA and test scores that makes her mother cringe, reality has slapped Caroline in the face and made her realize that she needs to buckle down and get serious about school. That means no more drinking, no more fun, and no more boys.

No more boys.

That had been her hardest rule to follow, but she'd managed so far. Tyler hadn't, though. When she told him she needed to take a break and focus on her studies, he hadn't taken it well.

"I just need to take a break. It's not—"

"It's not you, it's me?" Tyler recited incredulously. "If you're gonna break up with me, just break up with me instead of giving me excuses."

"They're not excuses, Tyler," Caroline replied sharply. "I barely made it through junior year! I can't have any more distractions."

"Just shut up, Caroline! You were failing your classes because you didn't try, so don't put the blame on me!"

"I'm not blaming you! It's not your fault, it's because I didn't have my priorities straightened out. But now I'm focusing on what's important."

"So our relationship isn't important to you?" Tyler countered.

Caroline tolled her eyes. "Of course it is! That's why I'm not 'breaking up' with you, I'm just asking if we can press pause for a while until I get back on track."

"That's not how it works, Caroline. You have to decide what you really want."

She scoffed. "What I really want is to get into college!"

Tyler shook his head and held up his hands in surrender. "I'm done. You can do whatever you want, I don't care."

Caroline's shoulders slumped. "Come on, Tyler, don't be like that—"

"Stop talking," he demanded before turning around and walking away. He stopped mid-stride once he was a few steps away to tell her, "You know, I'm glad we're breaking up. You were an insecure, neurotic, bitchy little twit anyway."

Well, if that's what he thought, then so be it. Not that it mattered, because Caroline didn't need someone like him in her life anyway.

So now here Caroline was, walking into Mystic Falls high school with her two best friends by her side—Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett—and making her way to the first class of the day.

"Does anyone else think this should feel slightly more empowering?" Elena asked.

"We've been dreaming about this day ever since our freshman year, so of course it's not going to live up to our expectations," Bonnie answered.

Caroline, forever being her optimistic self, chimed in. "Well, we don't know that yet. We've still got the entire year ahead of us! Let's make it live up to our expectations." She grinned as they entered their first period classroom and took their seats right next to each other.

Unfortunately, the class was almost completely filled by the time they arrived, so the girls were forced to sit in the front row. Caroline glanced over her shoulder to see who else was in this period, spotting a few familiar faces, including her ex boyfriend Matt Donovan. She smiled and gave him a small wave. Unlike with Tyler, Caroline and Matt were still on friendly terms.

Speaking of the devil, Tyler walked in right at that moment and decided to choose the seat right behind Caroline. He threw her a cocky smirk as he slammed his book on the desk and sat down.

"Hello, Caroline," he greeted her arrogantly.

"Tyler," she replied stiffly, turning around in her chair so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Come on, don't be like that. We can still be friends."

Caroline let out a sarcastic laugh, her back still facing him. "I made that same offer to you when we broke up, and you told me to go to hell. Sorry, but I think we're past being friends."

Before Tyler could respond, he was cut off by the shrill sound of the bell and the slamming of the door as their teacher kicked it shut and crossed the room, heading toward the chalkboard.

"Hello, class," he said as he wrote World History on the board. Caroline was taken aback by his British cadence. He dropped the writing utensil and turned around, rubbing his hands together to dust off any excess chalk. "I'm Mr. Mikaelson. That's spelled with a 'k,' not a 'c-h.'"

Caroline's jaw fell slack as she took in his appearance. He looked young, probably in his twenties, with baby blue eyes, golden hair, and the right amount of stubble to make him look irresistibly disheveled. She noticed while he was turned around that his jeans were doing him all kinds of favors.

She was pulled out of her reverie when he began speaking again, explaining the rules of the class. She wasn't supposed to be having thoughts like this, he was her teacher! Not to mention, she's sworn off boys this year, so she shouldn't be having thoughts like this about anyone. Especially her teacher.

Caroline's phone buzzed in her pocket and she discreetly pulled it out. It was a message from Elena.

It should be a crime to be that good looking, it read.

Caroline smiled to herself.

Don't tell me you're crushing on the teacher.

A second later, her phone buzzed again.

By the way you're looking at him, YOU obviously are.

Caroline glanced over in Elena's direction and saw her friend grinning at her. With a quiet laugh and the shake of her head, she replied:

Okay, I'll admit it. His accent did me in, she teased. But of course she wasn't actually crushing on him. She was just joking around with her friend.

She hit send and when she lifted her head to pay attention, she saw Mr. Mikaelson standing over her with his arms crossed and a disapproving frown on his face.

"Don't tell me you're texting in class when I just finished explaining that it was against the rules," he said.

Caroline blushed, embarrassed. "Sorry," she muttered.

Mr. Mikaelson sighed and held out a hand. Caroline placed her phone in his open palm without putting up an argument. He dropped it on his desk, obviously annoyed.

"Meet me for detention after school today," he ordered.

Well, Caroline's plan to do better in school may not be going as well as she thought it would, considering her history teacher already hated her.

-xxx-

The rest of the day went by smoothly, and that brightened Caroline's mood significantly. Even as she sat in detention her smile was as bright as ever, a stark contrast from Mr. Mikaelson's dark mood.

"So, do I just sit here...?" Caroline asked, folding her hands in front of her on the desk. Despite her academic issues, she was never someone who had problems with behavior. She never had detention before, but she assumed there was something she should be doing like homework or organizing papers. Instead, she was sitting quietly at her desk while Mr. Mikaelson was focused on paperwork.

"I suppose," he answered her without looking up. "Unless you have homework to do."

Caroline took a deep breath and blew it out loudly. "It's only the first day of school. The only homework I have is filling out forms."

He didn't respond.

"I bet I'm the first person in all your years of teaching to get detention on the first day of school," Caroline teased.

Mr. Mikaelson dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair, giving her his full attention. "Technically you are, since this is only my first year."

"Seriously?"

He nodded.

"I'm making history, then," Caroline said, causing him to chuckle. Her eyes drifted to a photograph he had on his desk. It was of him and a blonde girl sitting on a park bench. His arm was thrown over her shoulders and their smiles were big and bright. "Is that your girlfriend?" Caroline asked.

He knit his eyebrows together, confused. His eyes followed Caroline's to see the photo she was referring to, laughing when he saw what it was. "That's my sister Rebekah."

Caroline's face lit up when she recognized who she was. "Oh, right! She's in my chemistry class." Then, a second later, she added, "So...do you have a girlfriend?" She noticed that he wasn't wearing a wedding ring, so he wasn't married. Not that she cared.

Mr. Mikaelson smirked at her. "Why are you so interested in my personal life, Ms. Forbes?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know," she answered, and she truly didn't know. Why did she find him so interesting?

He studied her for a moment before deciding to answer her question. "No, I'm not dating anyone."

She gave him an incredulous look. "I find that hard to believe."

"I'm not one for relationships," he explained, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. The girl was so nosy, but it didn't annoy him as it should've. In fact, he found it quite endearing.

"Why not?" she asked.

"None of them ever work out. They're all a waste of time."

Caroline frowned. That's depressing, she thought. "Well maybe you just haven't found the right girl."

Subconsciously she was aware that this entire conversation was beyond inappropriate to be having with her teacher, but that fact had been easy to ignore when she was talking with him. But once their eyes locked and she saw him looking at her as if she were the most peculiar yet captivating creature he had ever seen, she realized that maybe she had crossed a line with the whole relationship thing.

Caroline avoided his gaze by staring at his desk, spotting her phone just as it buzzed. Mr. Mikaelson rolled his eyes, the moment they had shared earlier completely vanished. "Your friends are incessant. Here." He tossed her the cell phone which Caroline caught effortlessly. The text was from Bonnie.

Are you still coming to the bonfire tonight?

Caroline sighed.

No idea. I'm stuck in detention.

She hit send and set her phone down before lowering her head and resting her chin on her hands.

"Is something wrong?" Mr. Mikaelson asked.

"What time do I get out of here? I don't want to miss the back-to-school bonfire at the falls."

Mr. Mikaelson appraised her for a moment. Normally he wouldn't let her leave, but he liked her. She was entertaining and she had spirit. And it was only the first day. Maybe he had been a little harsh by giving her detention.

So he let her go. "Well, I wouldn't want you to miss it." He gestured toward the door.

Caroline sat up straight, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Really?"

"Go ahead."

Caroline hopped up and grabbed her bag, making her way to the door while mumbling her thanks. Before she could leave, however, Mr. Mikaelson's voice stopped her.

"Caroline?"

She turned around to face him. "Yeah?"

"You might want to turn off your phone before handing it over next time, for my ego's sake." He smirked at her.

Caroline's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to respond but closed it again when no words came out. She could only imagine how red her face was right now, thinking about what he was referring to.

It should be a crime to be that good looking.

Damn you, Elena!

Without another word, she backed out of the classroom and walked hastily toward the parking lot.

-xxx-

"How was detention with Mr. Mikaelson?" Elena asked, grinning.

She, Caroline, and Bonnie were at the bonfire, sipping at red solo cups filled with cheap beer and watching as their classmates consumed their weight in alcohol. It was nice getting to see everyone after summer break, even if half of them wouldn't remember it the next day.

Caroline blushed, although she wasn't exactly sure why. "He's not that bad. We talked a little..."

"About...?" Bonnie prompted.

"Stuff," she answered vaguely. "Did you know it's only his first year teaching?"

Elena didn't seem surprised. "Well, he did seem kind of young."

"And strict," Bonnie added.

"He's actually not that bad," Caroline defended. "I mean, he did let me leave detention early to come here."

Elena was about to respond, but something over Caroline's shoulder caught her eye. "Who are they?" she asked, pointing.

Caroline turned around to see who she was talking about. There were two people standing by the bonfire talking, and Caroline had seen one of them before. She recognized the blonde-haired blue-eyed girl from the photo on Mr. Mikaelson's desk, but she had never seen the handsome dark-haired boy before.

"I'll go find out," Caroline said, brushing past Bonnie and Elena and making her way over to the two strangers. Both of them stopped talking and faced Caroline as she approached them.

"Hi," Caroline greeted them. "I'm Caroline. Are you new?"

The girl gave her a forced smile, her face illuminated by the warm glow of the bonfire. "Yes, we just moved here. I'm Rebekah, and this is my brother, Kol."

Kol gave Caroline a once over and then beamed at her. "Hello, Caroline," he purred.

Caroline was taken aback by their accents. Did Mystic Falls suddenly turn into the UK? Before she could say anything else, Kol had snatched up her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles.

"It's really nice meeting you," he said seductively.

Caroline pulled her hand away and chuckled uncomfortably. Maybe Old Caroline would've been interested, but New Caroline had more important things to focus on than an extremely good looking guy with an accent that dripped of—

Stop.

School, college, school, college, Caroline repeated in her mind.

"Don't mind him," Rebekah said. "He's always like this."

Kol smirked. "And no one told me American women were so—"

"Kol!" Rebekah scolded, cutting him off before he could say something offensive or entirely inappropriate.

Kol's eyes widened and he turned to his sister. "I was going to say beautiful!"

Caroline threw her head back and laughed. Kol was grinning, but Rebekah was still glaring at him. Caroline decided she liked them. They seemed fun.

After her laughter subsided, Caroline asked, "Where are you from?"

"Wales," Rebekah answered. "But we moved here over the summer."

"That's a big change," Caroline said. "Why Mystic Falls though?"

"Our brother, Elijah, lives here. So does our father, but..." Rebekah trailed off.

"Touchy subject?" Caroline guessed.

Rebekah nodded and Kol rolled his eyes. "You have no idea," he said.

Caroline held up her hands. "I won't pry," she promised with a smile. "I did meet your other brother though. Mr. Mikaelson."

"Oh, you have Nik for world history?" Rebekah asked, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm so sorry, he can be such an ass sometimes."

Caroline shrugged. "He seemed pretty nice to me. We talked some in detention."

Kol snickered. "What did you do to deserve detention on the first day?"

"Texting in class," Caroline replied without any shame.

"That's it?" Kol asked disappointedly. "I was hoping you had done something a little more creative."

"I'll try harder next time," she joked.

The rest of the night was spent carrying on easy conversation with Rebekah and Kol. Eventually Bonnie and Elena wandered over and introduced themselves too. Kol seemed to take a special interest in Bonnie, earning a nudge or two from Caroline and Elena every time he complimented her. She would blush in embarrassment, but hey, what are friends for?

Caroline's heart wasn't in it, however. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Mr. Mikaelson, and for the first time in almost eighteen years, Caroline Forbes was excited to go to school the next day.

-xxx-

A/N: And it begins! So right now, Caroline's obviously crushing. Hard. Also, I chose for the Mikaelsons' birthplace to be Wales because I know that's where JoMo is from. If you have any questions about the Originals' backstory and why they're in Mystic Falls, it should all be answered in the coming chapters! It's pretty complicated. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! And even if you didn't, well, thanks for giving it a try. Please leave a review telling me what you think! Should I continue? Should I not? Should I just give up writing all together? Feedback keeps me motivated :D

Another place to send me your thoughts and/or suggestions is my tumblr: sexwithjomo

Much love,

Morgan