Crashing Down

Her eyes are somewhere between the deepest shade of blue and green. They sparkle when she laughs, and her smile stretches her cheeks wide. Her hair is a rich color of golden blonde, and her skin is bronzed with a healthy tan. But beneath her mascara coated lashes and blush tinted cheeks, is a girl lost in eternity.

If you had met her a month ago you would be warmed by her perkiness, instantly drawn into the gravitational pull that used to circle her. You would want her as your best friend; someone to stand beside you during your darkest hour. But now, now people don’t much want to be near her. Despite her repeated smiles and forced perkiness, they give her a wide berth in the hallways. They cancel plans, and some just flat out turn her down.

Maybe it’s because within a month she’s gone from wearing bright colors and light makeup. Now, her hair lays flat instead of in volumized, bouncy curls. The makeup surrounding her eyes is dark, and the clothes she wears in similar tones. All because he couldn’t control himself, couldn’t show just a little bit of self-restraint. All the mind control, the compelling, the late night snacks, they weren’t enough for him.

He had begun to feed more frequently; his aggression progressed until she was covering bruises on her skin with makeup and clothing. Because he compelled her to; he compelled her to hide his abuse, be it physical or verbal. Until one day he got just a little too hungry, a little too angry at himself, the world and her.

A hand taps her lightly on the shoulder and she glances backwards, frowning at Elena; Elena with the perfect brown hair and perfect eyebrows and perfect smile and perfect figure, Elena with the perfect boyfriend; the perfect boyfriend with the murderous, self-loathing brother. Caroline swallows her anger, offers up a little smile. She’s still bitter about being less than human.

“Are you okay?” Elena asks, in her perfect voice.

“Fine,” Caroline snaps, and turns her attention back to Alaric as he paces the front of the classroom.

When the bell rings she darts out of the classroom, avoiding perfect Elena and perfect Stefan with their sickly perfect relationship. Bonnie ignores her as she grabs her coat from her locker, and Caroline can’t help but loathe the witch. That’s certainly no surprise though. It seems the only emotion she ever has anymore is hate.

“What’s your problem, Bonnie?” she asks, and God help her, her voice shakes.

The witch in question stares blankly at Caroline, her plump lips turned down in an unfriendly frown. Without a word, she pushes by and stalks out the doors. Tears well up in Caroline’s eyes, but she blinks them away and takes a deep steadying breath.

“Issues?” a silky smooth voice inquires, and her spine stiffens.

The sight of his dark messy hair and bright eyes makes her sick, and with a little more force than necessary she slams her locker shut. It rattles the entire row and Tyler Lockwood eyes her carefully. She can taste his suspicion, but she has no time to worry about Tyler coming over and attempting to beat out Damon.

“Get away from me; I don’t want to see you, I don’t want to hear you.”

His chuckle carries in the emptying hallway. “You need me, Caroline.”

A fire blazes bright in her eyes and she steps forward, her chest pressing tight against his. “You killed me,” she growls. “And then you tried to kill me again. I don’t need you for shit.”

Before he has a chance to reply she shoves past, ignoring Tyler and Matt’s questioning looks as she breezes on by out the doors. The last thing she needs is to get into an argument with Damon in such a public setting. Both would easily be ousted on their inhuman abilities, both would be hunted until death by the council.

“Caroline!” a perfect voice calls, and her anger and sorrow boils past breaking point.

“Not now, Elena.” She stammers; the force of her anger weak beneath choked back tears.

Caroline doesn’t go directly home, instead she drives to the woods and loses herself amongst the trees. With a bleeding bunny by her side, she lies on the dirt and leaves and closes her eyes. Just for a minute, a moment of peace and pretending.