A.N: This is my first attempt at giving a character a twin so if you have any ideas for future chapters I would love to hear them! I kind of want to let Caroline's twin have Klaus and let Caroline keep Tyler (Vomit!) but I'm a definite Klaroline shipper and I don't know of any other character to put her with. Suggestions!?
Here's the link to Charlottes outfit check it out : cgi/set?id=111334833plintered
Splintered Worlds
Chapter 1: Trouble Is My Middle Name
Charlotte's P.O.V
Coming back to Mystic Falls was definitely spur of the moment, but after a phone call from my twin sister Caroline I knew it was time that I visited home. We'd kept in touch and updated each other on our lives making sure there were no secrets between us and we knew everything that was going on so when Caroline had called me the night before for out weekly call her voice thick with tears, I knew something bad was happening, so I just let her cry and I sat there and listened as she unloaded her newest crisis onto me.
Her serious boyfriend, Tyler, left town because his life was in danger, Jeremy Gilbert was dead, Bonnie had gone crazy from a mix of Jeremy's death and dark magic she was playing around with, and Elena turned off her humanity and burned down her house with her brother's body inside. By the end of Caroline's story I was shocked and had no idea how to respond to her update on life all I knew was Caroline was in pieces, which never happened, us Forbes women were strong and stubborn but it seemed as if Caroline had finally neared her rock bottom. As the older twin I had an obligation to my sister, we were the other half of each other, especially being identical twins.
I managed to calm Caroline down and convince her thing's would look up but I had a cold feeling in my gut as I told her goodnight, which caused me to book the earliest flight I could get to Virginia.
The next evening I was on the plane and an hour and thirty minutes later I was in a Taxi headed towards Mystic Falls and my childhood home. Driving through my hometown brought back many memories, both good and bad, like my first kiss at the town square to first sneaking alcohol at the Grill with Caroline and our friends and then stumbling home hoping my mom wouldn't notice that Caroline and I were completely wasted. I smiled to myself as more memories ran through my mind and before I knew it the cab was pulling up to my mom's house.
I exited the cab and grabbed my suitcases before paying the fare, the cab pulled away and drove off as I stood in front of the house, no one knew I was coming home and from the looks of it the house was void of my mom and sister.
I strutted towards the front porch as the cool night air caressed my skin and tousled my pale blonde hair; I set my bags on the porch steps and searched around the door for the spare key. Minutes later I found the key under a dorky looking ceramic turtle I opened the door and looked inside the house, I let out a sigh and grabbed my bags hefting them inside the house.
I kicked the door shut behind me and looked around the familiar walls, I hadn't been here since I was 16, I ran away from home after my dad decided he was gay and my parents divorced I guess it was a rebellious phase I was going through but I ended up in New York and landed myself a job as a guitarist in an uprising band, Paradise Circus, the first week I was there. After a few months of playing gigs we were making our name known and we signed a record label with a semi- famous music company, at 17 I was pretty much leader of the group and my band mates were like a second family to me and we'd made a nice sum of money.
My mom never did forgive me for running away and she hated the idea that I was in a band but she knew that once I put my mind to something there was no swaying me.
The house was dead quiet as I brought my bags upstairs to my old bedroom, I wasn't surprised that nothing in my room was changed around, my mom wasn't home ever and Caroline was always waiting for me to come back. I set my bags next to my perfectly made bed; I sat down on the corner of my bed and let out a large sigh. I pulled out my I-Phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found Caroline's number I hit the dial button and brought the phone to my ear, several rings later the line picked up and all I could hear was loud music and base.
"Hello!" I heard Caroline yell over the music.
"Where the hell are you?" I asked.
"I'm at the Salvatore Boarding house trying to help Stefan with little Ms. No Humanity, she invited almost all the school here including people from other high schools, it's crazy! Not to mention she was feeding on the competition at the Cheerleading Finals and she dropped me on purpose when I was a flier" Caroline ranted in annoyance.
I raised an eyebrow, "Sounds like you need another helping hand; I'll see you in five. Tootles!" I responded.
"Wait, what you're in town?" Caroline asked in confusion.
"Of course" I said hanging up before she could bombard me with questions in a Caroline-like manner.
There were hardly any supernatural problems in New York which surprised me immensely, I had the occasional run in with a witch or newbie vampire but we usually just avoided each other and thanks to some jerk I rarely ever thought about I could handle my own.
Being a freak of nature had its perks; I guess I was considered a Hybrid of sorts half vampire; half human I wasn't as strong as a regular vampire but I was stronger than the average new born, I was just as fast and my aging slowed down considerably but didn't stop completely. The downsides to this, I still had to drink blood and eat regular food, I was sun sensitive, it didn't burn me but long amounts of exposure weakened me and I needed to intake more blood than necessary, I don't heal as fast from injuries and my compulsion wasn't as strong. Caroline was the only one who knew I was even part of the supernatural; my mom wouldn't be able to handle knowing she had TWO vampire daughters.
I grabbed the car keys to my mother's off-duty car and used the GPS on my phone to find the Salvatore's place. It didn't take me long before my heightened hearing picked up the loud music and chattering of high school students, I found the large house in no time and parked amongst the mass amounts of cars. I exited my car and entered the crowded house, wrinkling my nose at the pungent smell of bad beer, sweaty bodies and other questionable scents, I pushed my way through groups of drunk teens I use to go to school with before I dropped out, some of them noticed me and confusion was written all over there face. They were probably wondering why Caroline was wearing this weird out of character outfit, I just laughed at them before spotting my sister dancing in the middle of the living room.
Caroline was smiling and laughing with a guy I assumed was her best friend Stefan or some random guy in her life I didn't know about, it was a nice change from the Caroline who cried to me for almost two hours on the phone.
There were loud woot's from the other side of the room I looked to my right and saw Elena Gilbert and various other high school girls dancing on the table with alcohol in hand, I rolled my eyes I'd been to crazier parties and I wasn't really impressed by Elena's handiwork. I snuck up behind Caroline and bumped into her roughly, her friend regarded me in surprise, I gave him a wink before Caroline turned around to face me with her best bitch face on, ready to give me a piece of her mind.
As soon as Caroline saw me I raised an eyebrow at her and she broke out into a large smile, tackling me into a tight hug.
"I can't believe you're actually here!" She exclaimed.
We pulled away from each other smiling, we turned to her friend our arms slung loosely around each other's waists, he looked between us seeming to be in some sort of stupor. I held out my hand to him and laughed,
"Hi I'm Charlotte Forbes" I announced.
He shook my hand and smiled politely, "Stefan Salvatore"
"Ohh so you're the infamous best friend I've been hearing all about. You are cuter than I thought" I said slightly flirtatious.
Stefan shot Caroline a sheepish smile and she laughed, a very wasted cheerleader knocked into me, I grabbed her beer and downed it in one go I handed the bottle back to the stumbling cheerleader and turned to Stefan and Caroline with a grin on my face.
"Let's get this party started!" I cheered.
I grabbed Caroline and Stefan's hands and pulled them into the large crowd of dancing people, one of my favorite songs came on so I decided to show off, Caroline and I sexy danced on Stefan, she was behind him while I stood in front of him moving my hips slowly to the beat of the music, Stefan had his hands on my hips as we danced scandalously close.
I smiled at him teasingly, "Sorry if this is to forward but I'm not a shy girl" I chuckled.
"I'm enjoying myself" He whispered in my ear.
I grinned at his response and we danced even closer. A few sexy and non- sexy dances later we decided to take a drink break, we stood off to the back of the room drinking and conversing. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Elena approaching us, a bitchy smile in place.
"Look who finally joined the party" She mused.
"Yeah. Why? Are you jealous?" Stefan asked.
Elena scoffed, "No. That would imply emotions, and we've already established those are useless" Elena responded.
I raised an eyebrow at her response.
"Come on, Elena. Just dance with us" Caroline begged.
Elena opened her mouth but before she could shoot off another bitchy comment I cut in.
"You know what we were actually in the middle of something and having fun, so why don't you take your 'I'm so bad' attitude and no emotions elsewhere. There must be a nice wall somewhere that you have something in common with" I replied in a bitchy sweet voice with a fake smile on my face.
Elena turned to me with a frown on her face; she smirked as she looked me up and down.
"Oh, the infamous Charlotte Forbes? I'm surprised your mom even let you come back home. From what I hear you were such a big disappointment and from the looks of it rumors were right and not much has changed. You're really a stereo-type blonde if you think you can take me, I'm sure you know what I am but I guess I can't expect actual thought from a dumb blonde" Elena said smoothly.
I pretended to think for a moment, "hmm, let me take a guess here, you're a bratty, manipulative, pathetic, orphaned vampire bitch with abandonment issues?" I asked innocently.
Stefan and Caroline's jaws dropped and the smirk Elena had been wearing fell off her face.
"I hate to sound cliché like you, but would you like some ice for that burn honey?" I added.
Elena glared fiercely at me, dark veins appearing and disappearing under her eyes. I glared back at her and waved her off.
"Shoo" I said turning my back on her knowing it would drive her crazy, she grabbed my arm tightly, I spun around and gripped her wrist just as tightly, I squeezed until I felt the boned in her wrist pop and crunch, she gasped in pain and ripped her arm away.
I got in her face and spoke in a threatening tone, "I'm older than you vampire wise, which means I'm stronger than you, don't mess with me Elena" I growled.
Elena shot me a look of hatred before using her vampire speed to disappear into the crowd. I took a deep breath to get a hold on my anger; I turned back to Stefan and Caroline who were still stunned by the whole exchange.
"She could have hurt you Charlotte, how did you do that?" Stefan asked confused.
I shrugged lightly, "I'm half vampire. I believe I was made the same way you guys were but the transition must have not worked all the way or something because I'm just a weird Hybrid" I explained.
Stefan looked to be deep in thought, I didn't know if it was about what I told him or if it had to do with what just happened with Elena, he just had a broody look on his face and he definitely wasn't the care free Stefan I'd met at the beginning of the party.
I grabbed his hand to pull him out of his thoughts, I gave him my best puppy dog look; he rolled his eyes and let me pull him back to the dance floor. A slow song came on so he put his arms around my waist and I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck.
"So Mr. Salvatore, how are you holding up?" I asked lightly.
"I've been better; this whole situation has everyone on edge. I hate seeing Elena act like this person, she keeps trying to tell me that maybe this is the real her now but I just can't accept that. Do you hate Elena?" Stefan asked.
I shook my head and he raised his eyebrows at me quizzically and I sighed trying to think of a way to explain myself.
"Elena and I were really close throughout our child hood then her parents died at the end of Freshman year and mine were always fighting, by the time sophomore year came around, my dad left my mom after realizing he was gay and I went through a sort of rebellious phase and ran off to New York. Elena flipped her switch and she doesn't want to turn it back on because she has nothing to come back to, not really. But I'm not here to help her or try to figure out her reasoning's I'm here for my sister believe it or not" I explained.
Stefan gave me a curious look, "Caroline?" He asked.
I gave him a sad smile, "You're so wrapped up in Elena that you don't notice that this is affecting Caroline just as much. I know she's the rock of the group but she has feelings Stefan, you've all been so busy with poor Elena that you haven't even heard Caroline's cries for help. She just lost Tyler and one of her best friends is singling her out and being a ruthless bitch towards her, while her other best friend had gone crazy. Caroline needs someone to lean on and that's me" I responded meeting Stefan's eyes.
He frowned, "Wow, I'm a terrible friend" He mumbled.
I smacked his arm lightly, "Shut up! You can't help but fawn over Elena, she use to be your 'epic love' as Caroline so eloquently puts it. You take on to much guilt, I mean yes you have been lacking in the good friend department but don't sit there and beat yourself up and brood do something about it and stop making things that are out of your control your fault" I lectured.
Stefan smiled at me, "You're definitely Caroline's sister. Thank you Charlotte" He said appreciatively.
I stuck my tongue out at him playfully and we laughed, we both paused and looked at each other, noticing how close our faces were to each other. Stefan looked into my eyes and then at my lips he started to lean in slowly and I did the same. Before our lips met I saw something past Stefan's shoulder as I tilted my head, Elena was slamming my mother against a wall. I pulled away from Stefan abruptly and flashed over to Elena, ripping her off my mother, Caroline flashed over to our mom to check up on her while I squared off with Elena who was smirking at me.
"I will wipe that smile off your face you bitch!" I hissed, lunging forward.
Stefan had flashed over moments before and when he saw me going for Elena he grabbed me by the waist pulling me away from her, I struggled against his iron grip as best as I could but it was of no use.
Elena gave us one last smirk before disappearing out the door, Stefan let me out of his grip and I whirled around angrily.
"Why did you hold me back? She attacked our mom Stefan!" I yelled, gesturing to Caroline and my mom.
Stefan sighed, "Let me and Caroline handle it Charlotte. You should get your mom home" Stefan said firmly.
I shot him an incredulous look and walked over to my mom who was rubbing the back of her head gingerly.
"Are you okay mom?" I asked concerned.
"Yeah I'll be okay Char" She said, using my child hood nickname.
I sighed in relief and my mom pulled me into a hug which surprised me greatly.
"I am so glad you are home, I missed you" She said quietly.
"I know" I mumbled.
"Let's go home?" She suggested pulling away.
I nodded and we headed outside, we walked to her off-duty car and I entered the driver seat while she sat in the passenger seat. When we made it back home my mom settled on the couch and I made her some tea. A few minutes later I brought her cup of tea out to her and sat next to her; she thanked me and sipped her tea.
"Mystic Falls has been crazy lately as you've probably noticed and this is only one of many problems" my mom sighed.
"Yeah, Jeremy's dead, Elena isn't Elena anymore and Caroline is holding on by a thread" I laughed dryly.
My mom nodded and drank more of her tea.
"Are you sure your head is okay?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Why didn't you tell me you were a vampire too Charlotte?" My mom demanded.
I looked away, feeling guilt creep up on me. "I didn't think you would like to hear that mom, I know you never wanted Caroline to be a vampire, I didn't want to add anymore stress on you. Besides I'm still half human" I answered.
My mom frowned but before she could ask me anything my phone started ringing, I shot my mom an apologetic smile and pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket to see 'Caroline' flashing on the screen. I quickly answered it.
"Hey Care, what's up?" I asked.
The only response I got back was Caroline sobbing on the other end.
"Caroline what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.
"Elena almost succeeded in killing me! And Tyler isn't coming back to town Charlotte. He gave Matt the deed to the house and wrote me a letter saying he can't return to town until the thing with Klaus is over with, he gone, he's really gone!" Caroline cried.
"Where are you Care?" I asked soothingly.
"At the Salvatore's" She hiccupped.
"I'm on my way" I said.
"Okay..." Caroline sniffled.
I ended the call and looked at my mom with sad eyes.
"Is she okay?" my mom asked.
I shook my head, "I'm going to her right now though" I said getting to my feet.
My mom smiled softly and nodded. I flashed to the car and drove back to the Salvatore Boarding house, the party was over and there wasn't a single car in sight when I pulled up. I exited the care and walked through the front door, slamming the door shut behind me. I heard Caroline's sobs in the parlor room, remnants of the party littered the house; I eyed it in disgust as I made my way to the other room.
Caroline was curled up into a ball on the couch crying into a pillow, I walked up to her and plopped down next to her, rubbing her back sympathetically, she sat up and looked at me, tears in her eyes and makeup smeared on her face. I gave her a reassuring smile and she flung herself into my waiting arms and continued to cry her eyes out. I just ran my fingers through her hair and whispered calm words to her.
After awhile the tears finally stopped and she drifted to sleep, I was beyond exhausted at the point to I leaned my head back against the back of the couch and closed my eyes, I had no trouble drifting away in to a deep slumber.