smoke on the water [ Dean ]

[Caroline Forbes]

Caroline Forbes was in her element: bossing people around of course. She had been placed from chair to head of the Mystic Falls beautification committee and tonight was their second annual fundraiser benefit which solely rested on her shoulders. This event was the highlight of their year, where they made their funds for the various projects they had in the works and where bids would also be placed for the areas where the committee would focus their effort into. This was an event that brought out the who's who of their small town and this could. not. go. wrong. No, not couldn't go wrong, but could go no less than perfect. That was her specialty: perfection...at least when it came to being a hostess or event coordinator. 

Caroline spoke quickly as she walked, her pace determined and every inch of the space looked over as she went by " I need those lights lifted higher, we're going for seductive and serene not high school prom. Those linens need to be ironed. Take that rug and switch it with the one at the foyer." Everything was slowly falling into place it was just going to take time. If she had been alone she could have pulled everything together in less than an hour, there were perks sometimes to having superhuman speed and strength, alas she was not alone and it was important she was seen doing all of these mundane tasks. 

Her mother came in and mentioned something about FBI or CIA agents wanting to speak with her at a meeting later on which had seemed completely odd but her mom hadn't seemed worried. Apparently, it wasn't all that much of an uncommon occurrence over the years for law enforcement to stop by and check out all of the "animal attacks". Caroline had nodded and snipped something at a passerby holding a vase the wrong way before she continued speaking with her mom who assured her it was nothing to worry about and after promising not to be late tonight to the gala she had left. 

Caroline had then made her way outside at the entrance where two florists were ruining the delicate display she had arranged " No, I ordered Lily of the Valley not baby's breath. Get this out of here and put in what I said or you won't arrange flowers in this town ever again." Caroline closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, why was this so hard she mused to herself. What was so hard about listening to directions? She watched the florist load everything into their van and she made her way down the steps to where the carpet guy had just rolled out a full driveway's length of pristine red carpet. She had scheduled everyone to use the back entrance to load and unload and the front's drive wouldn't access the large circular entranceway that cars normally pulled up to use. It was going to be perfect, absolutely perfect....or at least it would have been until a very loud car pulled right up the front driveway, right over her red carpet and parked directly in front of the building. 

[Dean Winchester]

Another small town, but this one had quite a problem. It was over run by blood sucking leeches. Vampires. He had had his fair share of the bastards over the years, and this wasn't going to go any differently than any other mission he and Sam had been on. They would take care of business and get the hell out of there. Though knowing Sam he would find something else they needed to take care of there. Nothing ever seemed to come in series of one for the Winchesters. He had agreed to meet with the Sheriff of the town, some chick named Liz Forbes who had been pretty curt and professional on the phone, but as he pulled into the town he had a feeling this wasn't going to be the usual town.

This one looked like something out of one of those tv shows where everyone knew everyone elses business and there was an upper class in the town and all that crap. Not really his scene. He wished he could have stopped and had a drink before he dealt with this, but oh well. As he pulled up to the building that it seemed most of the town seemed to be either hurrying away from or too, he couldn't help but get a look of utter disgust on his face. Was that seriously a red carpet leading up to the building? What was the person running this thinking? Were they some little girl living out a Hollywood or Princess fantasy? Sure as hell looked like it.

He pulled up and parked right in front, accidently (on purpose) running over that God awful carpet. Getting out of the car his eyes found a very angry looking blonde staring him down like she was ready to kill him. He tried not to chuckle as he walked up to her his best charismatic look on his face as he reached for the fake CIA badge that he had used hundreds of times. He held it out to her quickly before putting it back in his pocket. " Excuse me ma'am, I'm Officer Cooper, here to see Sheriff Forbes, someone told me she would be here. It's important that I speak with her right away." He gave her a dazzling smile trying his best to ensure that she didn't see through the ruse. It worked pretty much every time, and if he used that dazzling grin of his it seemed to make the angry looking chicks not so angry with him either. As it was the look she was giving him, or was it his Impala, was dirty enough to make a lesser man beg for mercy.

" Can you tell me where I might find her?" he was acting as if he had no care in the world that she probably wanted to kill him over him running over her perfect little scene, which he really didn't give a damn about. In fact, he found it rather funny, but was doing his best to stay professional, ' Maybe after I speak with her I could take you to that little Grill I passed on the way in and buy you a drink to apologize for slowing you down while you seem to be in such a hurry." he smirked, " I won't take no for an answer." 

[Caroline Forbes]

Caroline Forbes watched as the obnoxiously loud car rolled directly onto her red carpet. She could see the dirty residue of tire tracks following up the once pristine velvet finish which now looked like it belonged somewhere serving boiled peanuts and lukewarm beer. In less than two minutes this careless person destroyed one of her most favorite event pieces. That hadn't been enough though, no the man had then parked his piece of junk on her entryway and then proceeded to talk to her as if she was...well...one of the people she had been ordering around.

The guy waved a badge around and then asked where her mother was. Her eyes narrowed slightly and her head tilted at the gal of this stranger. She didn't care who he was or who he might have thought he was. He had just ruined her gala and NO ONE ruined Caroline's gala. Crossing her arms she walked down the remainder of the steps and walked to him " Do you have any idea what you've done? That is a Sid Grauman original piece. This was flown in on a special favor." Caroline's eyes met his, her pupils dilating ever so slightly to enact her will " I need you to put all two of the remaining cells in your lizard brain to work and get this piece of junk off my red carpet." 

Yes, there were certainly perks, such as not having to deal with obnoxious CIA or whatever he was agents. Ignoring the smile he was trying to win a beauty contest with she waited for him to move along. When he asked about where he could find her mom she sighed a bit in annoyance that he was still bothering her " Sorry you just missed her, she said your appointment wasn't until later so I suggest you go wait in the Sherrif's office for her." Liz Forbes was a massive stickler for being on time whether it was curfews or appointments Caroline knew better than to think her Mom had the wrong time down for whatever this was. Letting her curiosity get the better of her she continued on " What is this about exactly? I've lived here my whole life and there's nothing outside of a few underage drinking rules being broken occasionally." Which she and her friends had of course been the leading culprits for. Since College she tended to take it a bit more easy on ragers though that might have also been in part to her vampire nature. Alcohol just didn't work as well as when she was a human, sure it could still give her a nice buzz but she'd have to drink a ton for that to happen and it usually wasn't worth it.

Speaking of drinking...she almost fell over from his arrogance when he asked her out for a drink. He didn't just ask her out for a drink he rather assumed she would accept, as if she couldn't help but fall in love with his handsome smile and obnoxious car. Caroline laughed " Does that really ever work? I mean the whole beauty queen smiling and flashing your badge thing? You ruined my entranceway, you egotistically downplayed this whole event that you have zero understanding of and then you ask me out for drinks? Like I would be so honored. Uggh no thank you." 

[Dean Winchester]

She was fiesty, and he respected that, and was beyond intrigued by it. This girl really was full of fire and vinegar. He could really get used to having her around. Dean always had a thing for girls like her. She had a bit of a bite, and that was hot. He feigned ignorance,
" A Sid what now?" he looked down at the carpet and shrugged, " Looks like something you could find at any carpet store." he raised his eyebrows as he looked at her, " What kind of special favor?" He shook his head, acting like he was disappointed in her, but honestly he didn't give a damn about any of this, he just wanted to talk to the sheriff and find out what the hell was going on in this weird place.
" Lizard brain? Huh, didn't ever get out of kindergarten insults stage did we?" he narrowed his eyes a little as she called his baby a piece of junk. " I'm sorry, but that car is a classic and is in immaculate condition, far from a piece of junk honey." he shoved his hands in his pockets as he stared her down, refusing to move his car. She was being ridiculous, it was a piece of carpet for Christ's sake not some priceless family heirloom or some crap.

" Well unfortunately darlin, but something else came up and its very important that I speak with her sooner rather than later, a law enforcement matter, not anything to do with blonde girls trying to play princess and run some big party ok?" he was being a jerk, but hell it was what he was good at, and this girl had as much attitude as he did. They could go toe to toe for sure. " Like I said princess,
this is a matter involving the sheriff and myself, not the local population at this time. Don't worry, between your mom and me I'm sure nothing would happen to you, though I am sure you can stand up for yourself." he gave her a backhanded compliment, even though she was full of it, he knew that even the toughest girls liked to hear that they were stronger than they thought.

He shrugged, " I was trying to make up for it. Its far from ruined honey, you can fix it easily. I'm sorry if I screwed up your day,
and yes, that typically does work, haven't heard no in awhile." he crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at her, " again, I can't tell you any reason for me being here, but its imperative that I speak to the sheriff quickly." He and Sam had found another supposed animal attack that morning, and he really needed to talk to the sheriff about it. They hadn't called it in yet, but he had a feeling that the sheriff knew more than she was letting on.

[Caroline Forbes]

Caroline should have known Agent Dreamy McDreamerson wouldn't know who Sid Grauman was or that this carpet cost more than his whole year's salary and car combined. Yet it still irked her just a tiny bit when he mocked the name. If she was in New York or LA this wouldn't have happened. This is what she got for staying in Mystic Falls. " What? Are you kidding? Look at the rich color. Look at the way the vintage..." noticing that he couldn't care less about the carpet and he was in all likelihood just being annoying to get a rise out of her she pursed her lips a moment before letting out an exhasperated breath " You know what...never mind." When he raised his eyebrows suggestively hinting at the favor that she had pulled...which in actuality had been shoving Stefan onto a plan and getting him to compel the shop's owner to lend it to them....she found her mouth opening a bit in shock of the gall of him. Without thinking she hit him with the papers she had been holding lightly on his shoulder " Excuse you! Some of us don't need to use sex to get what we want thank you very much." She then paused a moment and realized that she had just effectively assaulted an officer, no not even an officer but an agent. Her eyes widened a bit " Sorry! That doesn't count as assault because...you...started..it." She found herself smiling a bit and trying not to laugh at the whole situation, he didn't seem like he'd actually hold her to an assault charge, hell it was a rolled up program but it wasn't like she needed any extra attention from the law either.

When he didn't obey her compulsion Caroline worked hard to keep the shock from her face. Vervain? Surely she would have smelled it and on top of that what was some Agent doing taking Vervain? It seemed a little too cooincidental for her taste. He had then begun talking about how amazing his car was but all she could think about was the fact that he was immune to compulsion. Snapping her head back into their conversation she caught the tail end of him calling her a princess trying to run a party.  " First of all...this Princess is the Sherrif's daughter and you can have your little secret meeting but I'll just find out over dinner where the conversation will go from the amazing lasagna to the arrogant agent who marched into town thinking he was homeland security." When he went on about letting nothing happen to her she laughed and put her hand to her head in a mock faint " Oh thank Heavens the strong hansome Agent Cooper is here to protect our city streets however did we make it before?" Batting her eyelashes in a dramatic southern belle form she couldn't stop the grin that had spread across her face. He was something different that was for sure. If it wasn't for his eyes...and maybe his devilish smile she imagined he wouldn't have made it so far in the world. 

Caroline raised an eyebrow a bit when he mentioned that he hadn't been told no in a while. " You're presuming a lot of yourself if you think you can ruin my day. It's fine, just go I'll fix it in time for what was it you called it....my little party?" She rolled her eyes and was about to walk back inside when he mentioned in a more serious tone that he needed to speak with her mother. She pursed her lips a moment in thought before checking her phone, it was still two hours before she had said she was meeting the agents. " She won't be at the station for another two hours, but she will be at home. If you really need to talk to her before then I can take you." It was about the time she needed to go home and start getting ready anyway so she figured she could kill two birds with one stone: a ride home and his car off of her carpet. 

[Dean Winchester]

After he went a little too far he supposed with hinting at her doing something slutty for the favor he held his hands up in apology, " I didn't say anything about sex there princess, that was all you." Yep, she was something alright. The more he talked to her the more he wanted to get to know this pretty, tempermental blonde. She smacked him with the program and his eyes went down to the spot she hit and looked back up at her slowly as she got this look of holy crap what the hell did I just do on her face. He could give her hell for it just for fun, or he could take the sweeter route, but being that he was Dean Freaking Winchester he had to go the fun route. " You know I could arrest you for assault like you said there Miss Forbes." he narrowed his eyes at her, but broke just as quickly as he started. " But you know thats more paperwork that I really don't want to do so I will let you off with a warning this time on one condition." he smirked, " You take me up on that drink offer later. Doesn't have to be tonight since you have your, party thing, but you can take a rain check for now." He knew what he was doing was not something a real CIA agent would do, but it was fun all the same and he wouldn't be around this town for long anyway. At least, that was his hope. He wanted to have some fun while he could though.

She seemed a little perturbed about something, but he couldn't figure out what that might be. Must still be about the car situation. He laughed at her horrible impersonation of a damsel in distress and shook his head, " Alright you got me, but I really can't say anything, at least not until I speak to your mom alright? Truce?" he held out his hand to her to shake, though he didn't expect her to really shake it. She was far too pissed off at him for that. " I promise not to ruin any more of your...red carpet events or what have you." he really didn't know what the big deal was, it was just a party, but hell, she seemed pretty irritable over the whole thing and he could at least apologize, even if it wasn't completely something he understood.

He raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but chuckle, " Already taking me home to mom eh?" he laughed it off but shrugged. " Yeah I mean, if you are ok with riding in that piece of junk as you put it." He headed for the car and opened the door for her, " After you your highness." he smirked a little again and after she had climbed in the car, probably thinking she needed to disenfect it or something, he shut the door then climbed into the drivers side, starting the engine, " Alright navigator, take me to your place." the engine roared as he started to drive, glancing at her every now and then, " You really don't like me at all do you?"

[Caroline Forbes]

Caroline had thought for a brief moment that he was seriously going to charge her. It would have been absolutely ridiculous and she knew it would never hold but she also wouldn't have put it past this guy...especially after all that happened earlier between them. When he smirked she knew her face was betraying the annoyance that she knew was coming which of course was him calling it in as a favor for having a drink with him later on. She put her hand on her hip, tilting her head to the side " I have a boyfriend you know. He might not take too kindly to me having drinks with hot CIA agents and he's huge, a..Marine." Ok so all of that was a total lie of course but she was almost offended that the thought that she might be with someone hadn't even crossed his mind. She was Miss Mystic Falls thank-you-very-much. Yes she was currently single but that was by her own willing, the guys in this town were too complicated too...murderous at times...Klaus coming to mind. 

When he let her comment about him being arrogant go and refused to tell her anything more she sighed a moment "....fine." before reluctantly putting her hand in his. The moment she touched him she felt something. She couldn't place it, whether it was something akin to butterflies or electricity. It was strange and weird and she pulled her hand back and quickly cleared her throat " It was a red carpet event..now it's a dirt road racing track." She smirked, enjoying teasing him about it. She knew it wouldn't take long to remove any dirt traces from the red carpet, especially if she asked for a little help still it was fun to bring it up. 

When he made the comment about her taking him home to meet his mom she tilted her head to the side " Like you would be so lucky." When he brought up her comment about the car she felt her cheeks flush a bit. Caroline made a mental note to check for vervain next time before she made awful comments about people's vehicles. Ignoring the Princess comment she spoke up  " Sorry about that...it's..not so bad. I mean if you're into the whole vintage thing." smirking a bit she got into the car and waited for him to start it up. It was loud and every bit as obnoxious as it had seemed pulling up though even she had to admit there was a certain thrill in how powerful and quick the car was. 

Caroline began telling him directions and when he asked if she hated him she laughed a bit " I don't know you Agent Cooper so how would I know if I hated you or not?" Caroline glanced around the car, it was wholly male. The scent was a mix of leather, guy and something else she couldn't place. There were a few articles of clothes in the backseat along with an empty cup or two" So where are you from?" It looked like the remains of a road trip and she figured he wasn't from anywhere too close to here. She pointed out another turn and watched him a moment as he drove on. He was handsome, she had to give him that, glacing at his hand she noted there was no ring. Caroline looked away and her eyes fell on something in the backseat: a bible. He hadn't seemed like the religious type but then again she knew she didn't look like the pointy-teeth bitey type either, looks could be quite decieving. Next to the bible was something else she hadn't expected to see: a book. Not just any old book but Bacchae. "Wait a minute...." Taking off her seatbelt Caroline leaned over the console and into the backseat to grab it. Sitting back in her seat with the book she was grinning " I love this one. I actually re-read it like a month ago.  Euripides was an incredible playwright I mean the way he explores human nature and expectations is genius." The human Caroline wouldn't nor couldn't have been bothered to read anything like this, but after she changed it was Stefan who recommended the Greek book. It had been more of a help than she could have ever imagined, reading the characters battle with their true natures and what they wanted and were expected to be. It was now easiy one of her favorite books. 

[Dean Winchester]

" So you think I'm hot huh?" he knew that her reaction to that was likely to be priceless, but he was really enjoying pushing this chicks buttons. She seemed so easily angered by the littlest things and he found that hilarious. The easier she was to annoy the better for him. " Marine huh? WHere was he stationed last?" the key to any lie was in the details, so he was curious to see what she came up with for this one. Either way ,if she was lying or not that wouldn't stop him from flirting with her. He just couldn't help himself, it was part of Dean's nature to be a flirt. It was just, part of his dna. The younger Miss Forbes was easy to flirt with too, she was gorgeous, cocky, and he loved it. The more of a challenge she was the more he was interested. A boyfriend would just be a tiny complication and more of a challenge than if she was single. When she touched his hand he felt something too, but it wasn't something he had ever felt before and just blew it off to static or something. " You ever been to a race track? It's actually pretty fun. The food is great, greasy, salty, nachos you know, stuff like that. Good times. Though I don't see someone like you really trying to enjoy that kind of atmosphere you seem like more of an well, indoor girl." 


" I would be incredibly lucky, I must say." he grinned at her and sas the blush in her cheeks. Yeah, she was warming up to him rather she thought so or not. It was obvious that his charm would evenutally win the beautiful blonde girl over in the long run. The question was, how far was he going to have to push it to get her to actually agree to having a drink with him after he spoke with her mom? He gave her a fake appalled look, " Your telling me that you, Miss Forbes, do not like vintage things? I can totally see you at some shop finding some kind of vintage dress and practically drooling over it before you handed over your credit card to buy it. This car is a classic, and in mint condition. Sure I have had to fix it more than once, but she still purrs like a kitten." he patted the steering wheel of the Impala and looked over at her,  " even you have to love this craftsmanship." 


He drove the directions he indicated , concentrating on the road but he also found himself looking at her repeatedly. " People make judgements when they first meet others, and I am sure you are not any different than anyone else." he shrugged and noticed the ring on her finger. Lapis stone..or sapphire? Nope, definitly lapis. Hmm. That wasn't exactly the type of jewelery he would have expected her to wear. She seemed more like a diamonds and pearls type of girl. " Huh? Oh Kansas. Though my dad moved us around a lot as we grew up. My brother and myself. He's an agent also." he was shocked as she climbed over the seat reaching into the back seat. His eyes couldn't help but check her out as she was bent over the seat and he looked away quickly as she sat back down. " What? Oh that's my brothers book. I am more of a...music guy." he could tell how excited she was about the book, but he didn't want to pretend he knew anything about Sam's books he kept lying around. Except for the spell books, bible, and his dads journal Dean wasn't really much of a reader. THat and a good magazine...though that wasn't much a reading thing, nevermind. " Sorry to be a let down, which way do I go now?"  

[Caroline Forbes]

Agent Cooper had caught the little slip-up of her mentioning he was hot and she rolled her eyes " Oh please like you don't know that. Your eyes are like the ocean and your smile is charming, anyone would know you were hot." Pausing a second she pretended to appraise him " Could be taller though." Shrugging she smirked a bit. When he asked her more about her Marine lie she was a little less prepared. " He uh...it was....I actually can't say. You know..National security and all of that.Super-secretive, very classified." Ok so that was completely see-through but she didn't really care.He had then begun talking about how amazing race tracks were and how a girl like her wouldn't like it she corrected him " Hey. You don't know anything about me. I love nachos and burgers and fries thank you very much. I tried getting matt to put a Caroline burger on the menu at the Grill but he refused, said it had too much of a girly name which is ridiculous but hey if you go into the Grill try the Homestyle burger." Under her breath she muttered lame. That was certainly true, she tended to eat a lot more since transitioning. She had to, if she didn't keep something in her stomach her need to eat tended to change from hamburgers to humans. 

When he said he would indeed be lucky she didn't have a smart comeback. He was smooth, irritatingly smooth. She imagined that whatever town he rolled into he probably left a few broken hearts behind which was fine and well for her, she didn't want any part of it. Let the other girls in town melt at his charm. When he started talking about vintage she had to smile, it was true. She couldn't turn down something vintage, she liked to blame it on Klaus Mikaelson who started it, it was him who gave her the first true vintage piece she had ever worn which had apparently been from an unnamed princess. " Alright I admit it's got its own charm but there's a big leap from vintage dresses to old cars." She wasn't a car girl, never would be. The closest she got to doing anything with them was when she organized a sexy suds fundraiser for the Mystic Falls cheerleading squad. 

"not me" she replied to his comment about people making snap judgments " I've learned that it's best to reserve judgment.You never know what's going on with people or why they do what they do." She could name off a list long enough to make his head spin of people not only who pretended to be saints but also of the self-confessed sinners who did their sins for reasons that sometimes she couldn't even judge them for. Everyone had their reasons and stories that shaped who they were and what they did. She had learned it was best to wait, people always showed their true natures. 

When he said where he was from she nodded a bit "Wow, that must have been hard. I've lived here my whole life, I can't imagine not staying in one place." She wondered how two brothers could take the same path like that, the odds were probably not that high " So you're like a whole family of lawmen huh? I bet Christmas dinners must be a real party with all that responsibility?" She herself couldn't remember family dinners. It was always a mess, even before her Dad left. " Were you guys military?" She had glanced out the window as they kept driving on. She couldn't shake the small realization that she had been here and only here. She lived and well...died in this small town which didn't seem like she was really living her full potential. It wasn't all her fault though, if they weren't fighting one evil it was something else that threatened those she loved. She didn't have the freedom to travel and see the world. When he admitted the book was his brother's she felt a little embarrassed about going on about it. " Oh..no..it's fine. I actually got the recommendation from a friend. You should read it sometime though, it's a great read on the two sides we all have.... the civilized, rational side and the more animalistic instinctive side." Putting the book back where she had gotten it she grinned " Never know...might help you with the ladies someday." She pointed to her house " That's the one, there with the brick columns." Her mom's patrol car was parked in the driveway just as she thought. 

[Dean Winchester]

" Well thank you, you aren't so bad yourself." when she said he could be taller her chuckled, " Well you could be a little less of a control freak, but we can't always get what we want right?" If she took that badly, which he expected her to, she would have to know it was true. She didn't seem like the type to let go of control easily. He winked at her to show he was joking though, but he still expected a slap. It wasn't every day you would be so honest with a chick, but she seemed like the type that would take it and dish it right back. Hell they had been doing that for the last hour at least. " Uh huh, super secret stuff, got it." he smirked. " Caroline huh? Like the song." he wasn't much of a that kind of music fan, but who didn't know the song Sweet Caroline? Hard to not know it, it was even on commercials these days. " I must say, you really don't strike me as a burgers and fries type of girl. Though that just makes you more attractive. Better than than a girl who only eats a piece of lettuce and a crouton." he had been on dates with girls like that and it was kind of a turn off. Made them seem more concieted than anything else. If all they cared about was how they looked how could they be around a guy like him? Dean typically had a little grease somewhere, though at the moment he was actually cleaned up. 

 " Awe come on, there isn't that much of a leap. A lot of those vintage type dresses would have ridden around in this car when it first rolled off the line Princess. They would look good in it too." he ran a hand lovingly over the steering wheel. So much had come to pass while he was the owner of the Impala, hell he had to rebuild her from the ground up after the wreck that had almost taken all of their lives. Though in the end just their fathers. The Impala was his baby, alwasy would be. There were many a great memory in this car, and he wasn't about to get rid of it for anything. Not even for hot blonde goddesses. Caroline Forbes was definitly a force to be reckoned with, and maybe she would be strong enough to know the truth before he left that town, but maybe not. It would all depend on how things went from here on out as to how long Dean would even be around.

" You don't make snap judgements? I think you did about me. Even if you claim otherwise. Though that's ok, I'm not exactly the least rough around the edges guy around. " He knew that better than anyone. He only wished he could prove himself, but it might never happen. " It was very difficult to be honest." he had liked and hated moving around so much, but he had to do it. They had to track down the demon that had killed their mother. Dean didn't expect anything less from his father. " Christmas has never really been a big deal for us. It was kind of hard to really have a real Christmas when you moved around a lot. I guess the last real Christmas I had was the one before my mom died. Been a long time ago." he kept his eyes on the road as he professed one of his biggest regrets to her. They had never really been a Christmasy family after Mary's death. " I'm honestly not much of a reader, not casually anyway. Work kind of...keeps me busy. Besides, the girl I would want to impress already read it."  he pulled up in front of the house and glanced around her at it. " Looks like a place you would live." he smiled kindly at her. 

[Caroline Forbes]

Caroline gave him an amused smile when he mentioned she could be less of a control freak.That would certainly never happen. She had been controlling from the womb, entering the world a week before her due date. Always on her own time, always by her own will. She might have taken more offense to it had that not been what she was used to hearing from the time she was in Kindergarten to Graduation. She had long given up on changing, it was just who she was and it was that iron control that allowed her to so easily merge into her life as a vampire. 

He had commented on her name being like the song and she internally cringed. " Ugghh I hate that song, I dated a guy who sang that to me all the time and now all I hear when it comes on is his off-key voice. It's awful." Caroline had an amused smile when mentioned she didn't look like the fries and burgers kind of girl. "Honestly,  I wasn't always that way, but before I graduated I went through something that changed me." She glanced out the window a moment " For the better I think..." Watching the cars pass by a second it was easy to see she was a better person now even being her undead self than the breathing human she had been. She looked back over with a small grin " After that I just stopped caring what anyone thought and started living." that was a funny statement but it was the truth. She lived life more now than she ever had before. 

Caroline listened to him talk about his car and the women who would have clamored to ride in it amusingly. She found it kind of adorable the way he clearly loved his car, even if it was a more macho-man adorableness it was still a bit cute. She laughed a bit " Ok I get it...you're in love with your car." She imagined there was a psychoanalytical explanation there but she didn't care to try to guess. 

When he doubted she didn't make judgements she looked at him bemusedly shocked " Are you calling me a liar Agent Cooper?" She grinned a second more before speaking " I used to be. I was as shallow as a kiddie pool I assure you but then I kind of realized that nothing was as it seemed and people do weird things for weird reasons. Sure you might have been a jerk earlier but you've obviously got something all end of the world going on so it's fine...I'm sure you're not normally such a brazen ass." Smirking she watched him, a side of her hoping he wouldn't take it all the wrong way and turn into mr.serious lawman. 

When he began talking about his family she noted he was visibly different. It was almost as if she could see the wall he began putting up. When he spoke about not having much of a Christmas her heart broke for him. Clearing her throat she nodded " I get it. I mean my Dad left when I was younger and my Mom is the Sherrif so we didn't really do the whole family Christmas thing either." Pausing another moment she moved a strand of her hair behind her ear " I'm sorry about your mom. I know what that's like..my Dad died a few years ago." She let the silence sit between them a moment before he spoke about the book. If she had been her former self she might have blushed at that comment but when he spoke about impressing her she playfully hit him on the shoulder " You really don't give up do you?" For a brief moment she imagined giving in just a bit to him, going out for drinks. She'd imagined the night would end with dancing and maybe even a bit of kissing but there really wasn't a point to any of it. Her life here was too complicated for some casanova CIA agent to come in and mix it up even more. When he commented on her house she laughed a bit "All my life." Taking the seat belt off she stepped outside of the car " I've got to go change, but I'll send my Mom out to you. Nice meeting you Agent Cooper, thanks for the ride." She glanced at him a second before heading towards the door. Taking the few steps up to her porch she suddenly turned and spoke before she could stop herself " Hey. Would you...want to come tonight? To the Gala I mean." Before he could think she was getting all flirty she quickly added " I've known everyone who will be there for my entire life so a new face to talk to might be nice. If you're not doing anything already of course. You can just give them my name at the door and I'll make sure you're on the list."