Detention (ASOUE)

Chapter Thirty Seven

After pushing all the sweets and snacks to one end of the dining table, the other side was stacked high with pizza boxes. We all crowded around and tucked in, however two seats were left empty: one for Caitlin and one for Klaus.

Checking my phone, I realised they'd been up there for almost ten minutes. What the hell was taking so long? I wasn't sure if it was just the pettiness in me but I had assumed the dare would end with Klaus freaking out and running away from Caitlin. But now, I wondered if I had read the whole situation wrong. Maybe he liked crispy highlights after all. 

I had messaged Lily under the table because, although I wasn't actively part of the conversation, I also didn't want to come across as rude or anything. She replied almost instantly and I quickly made my way to the bathroom before dialing her number.

"Feeling any better?" I asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

"A little," she replied, "but what's going on with you? How's the sleepover?"

I thought for a moment, unsure how to best put it into words. "Slightly bizarre, honestly." 

I then proceeded to fill her in on everything that had happened since she had left, finishing my retelling with Caitlin's dreadful wink.

"Are you kidding me?!" Lily hollered down the line in such a way that I knew it was only a matter of time until her parents told her to quieten down. "What kind of forfeit is that? She clearly just wanted an excuse to snog Klaus. She's shameless! And you let her get away with it too!"

"What was I meant to do?" I huffed, "Kiss him myself?"

"Obviously!" she replied, "He's not that bad, is he?"

"Well, no-" I started, only to be cut off.

"Then I don't see the issue. You should've just done it yourself. Now Caitlin's got exactly what she wanted."

I sighed. "I wasn't just gonna kiss him to spite Caitlin. That's not fair on anyone, nor is it a good enough reason."

"As if you need a reason! Come on, Isadora, you two have chemistry-"

"No we don't," I interjected. 

"-and he clearly has a thing for you-"

"He does not," I insisted. "How can you say all of this when the three of us have never even hung out. You've never seen us together."

"Based off of what you've told me and seeing him interact with other people, it's safe to say he at least tolerates you. Which I would count as a win when it comes to Klaus," Lily said firmly, "I've watched enough romantic dramas to know how to read between the lines and trust me, there's a lot to read here."

I sighed and rested on the edge of the bath. I had wanted to speak to Lily to rant about Caitlin and get things off my chest but I had ended up even more stressed than I had been before I made the call. And now I didn't know what to think about Klaus. Surely Lily was just theorising. She was good at that. First she had thought he was a vampire, then a werewolf. Now she thought he liked me. It was just another one of her crazy fabrications. It had to be. She had an overactive imagination. There was nothing else to it.

"What's going on now? Give me the play by play," Lily demanded.

"I don't know, I'm in the bathroom," I replied.

"What the heck are you doing in there? Get back out there before Caitlin steals your man!"

"He's not my man."

"But he could be."

"Bye Lily!" I said forcefully. "Thanks for the chat."

"No worries," she chuckled, "I'll be here all night if you need any more advice."

I didn't bother pointing out that she hadn't really given me any advice in the first place and instead hung up, splashed some water on my face and then got ready to head back into the lion's den. As soon as I stepped out though, I ran straight into somebody.

"Are you okay?" Klaus asked, holding his hands out to steady me.

I instantly stepped back and nodded, feeling my face start to heat up. "Yep. Thanks," I said awkwardly, then I beelined for the dining room as quickly as I could without running. 

Of course, what Lily had said had got into my head. As soon as I saw Klaus, everything she said came rushing back and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. There was no way he liked me. I just had to get Lily's stupid thoughts out of my head. 

The other girls were still eating and chatting but now Caitlin had joined them, and she made sure to give me a smug look as I retook my seat. Klaus hadn't followed me, so his seat still remained empty. 

"So how was it?" Grace asked. 

Caitlin just sighed dreamily. "It was pretty hot, honestly. I think he was was fresh out the shower and-"

"Can we not talk about my brother like this please," Violet interjected, a disgusted look on her face.

"But we wanna hear the details," Carmelita whined.

The other girls agreed and so Caitlin continued, graciously soaking up every ounce of attention she could get.

"Well I'm tidying up then," Violet said under her breath and started taking cutlery and rubbish out to the kitchen. I decided I definitely didn't want to listen to another second of Caitlin's regurgitated snog session, so I helped her and took some through as well.

It was clear that Violet was stressed and as soon as we got into the kitchen, away from any possible eavesdroppers, she let out her frustration.

"This sucks, right?" she said, "Tell me you agree?"

I didn't want to offend her since it was her sleepover, but I also didn't want her to feel alone in her feelings if I disagreed, so I ended up falling silent, unsure what to say. It didn't really matter though, because she continued almost straight away. 

"Neither of them were invited but now they're taking over," Violet complained, "Maybe Klaus was right. Maybe I should've just kicked them out." 

The kitchen door swung open and Klaus came in. 

"Oh speak of the devil," Violet continued, "Had a nice evening, have you?"

Klaus, a little taken back by his sister's irritated tone, glanced between us both. "I... guess? What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Violet repeated. "Caitlin is what's going on. Her and Carmelita are winding me up. They- hold on," she interrupted herself to point at Klaus' head. "Your hair isn't wet."

"Of course it isn't," he replied, "What are you on about?"

I caught on to what Violet was implying. "Caitlin said you were fresh out the shower."

Klaus just looked at us both like we were crazy. "And why would she say that?"

Violet ignored his question and laughed to herself. "She didn't even go and see you, did she? Oh, I can't wait to expose her."

At that, she stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Klaus extremely confused. I didn't have time, nor did I really want to explain to him about the whole dare and forfeit thing, so I followed Violet. Given the mood she was in, I knew I wouldn't want to miss what she was going to do next. Because not only was Caitlin extremely annoying, but now she was about to be exposed as the massive liar she was. 

A/N: Does this count as updating before Saturday if it's Saturday right now? 😅

I just realised this chapter is mostly talking so sorry about that. And nothing really happened so sorry if it's a bit boring! It'll set up some other stuff though so the next chapter will probably have some more action!

I hope you enjoyed it anyway! See you in the next chapter ❤