Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries TV show. That honor goes to Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson.
Hello, my lovely readers. It's been a little while since I've posted anything and this will probably be a short story for Klaroweek. I have no idea what the prompts were but I had this image in my mind of Klaus working in a radio station and here we are. On with the show…
Chapter 1: Bit of Friendly Advice
Spinning in his chair, Klaus tried to think of what his life would be like if he worked for one of the larger radio stations, not this sad, little hole in the wall that had a vending machine that you had to kick to make work half the time. Yes, that would be lovely. Or maybe he could get a few less calls from people complaining about their pitiful love lives, (read lack thereof), or their crappy friends/family. If only.
"Mikaelson, what the hell are you doing in there?" the bane of Klaus' life called from the other side of the window. Damon Salvatore glared at him, his eyes icier than usual. Of course the man probably had a date and wanted to leave early. Flipping his boss off, Klaus turned his back on a furious Damon. "One of these days, Klaus, one of these days." Damon warned before disappearing.
"One of these days I'm going to sic one of these poor, desperate women who call my program on you and you'll eat your words," Klaus growled under his breath.
Picking up his head phones, he hit a button randomly, waiting for the first sad sack to begin whining into his ear. "Hello, caller, this is Klaus Mikaelson from the Lonely Souls program for people who lived through the stunningly, horrifying musical choices of our previous jockey of the day, Marcellus Gerard. Everyone, give Marcel a hand." Klaus began to clap and caught sight of Marcel coming toward the room with a candy bar in hand. From the look on his friend's face, Klaus was sure he heard the joke, and was not amused. "Hold that thought."
Ripping the headphones off his head, Klaus locked the door so that Marcel could not get to him and waved at him with a wide smile. That was for going out with his baby sister. Prick. Sitting back down, Klaus ignored the sounds of Marcel trying to tear the door off its hinges. "Sorry about that, caller, my colleague and I are having artistic differences. What was it that you were saying?"
"I didn't," a female voice said and Klaus could not detect sadness, rather he detected annoyance.
Sitting up in his seat, he smirked. It looked as if this one might be entertaining for once. "I'm sorry, love. I'm all ears now."
"From the looks of the billboard I saw with your smug face plastered on it, I would say you're all ears all the time," the girl quipped and Klaus heard Marcel guffaw from the other side of the door.
"There's a billboard? Really? No one told me," Klaus replied slowly with a smile.
"I don't know how you could miss it. I certainly can't seem to get that eyesore out of my mind's eye," the girl snorted and Klaus wondered if this was one of the women he'd taken home and never bothered to call again.
"Sweetheart, have we met before?" Klaus asked curiously.
"No," she informed him in a crisp tone.
"O-kay, but it sounds as if you have a bone to pick with me, if you don't mind my saying so." Klaus waited for her scathing retort and he was not disappointed.
"You're supposed to give people advice but your horr-ib-le about it," the voice told Klaus and he blinked.
"How so?" Klaus asked.
"Because you told that one girl that if her boyfriend was cheating on her it was probably because she was boring or bad in bed just yesterday." The girl accused and Klaus tried and failed to recall that call. "Now, if it were me, I would have said that she should have confronted her boyfriend. If he acted evasive, or was too quick to answer then he probably was cheating. And even if he wasn't, since she felt that he might be, that would be a cue that it was time to move on."
"Well, caller, it sounds like you have some experience in the cheating boyfriend department. Is there anything that you would like to talk about?" Klaus was baiting the girl. He was certain that she would lose it and curse him before hanging up. Maybe she would call again tomorrow. He hoped that she would. It had been some time since he had genuinely enjoyed this job.
"Ummm… that is not your business," the voice said quietly.
"Aw, and now I have hurt your feelings. I am truly sorry, love, what can I do to make it up to you?" Klaus asked in his most seductive tone.
"Stop calling me love, and, no, I have never had a boyfriend cheat on me. . . to the best of my knowledge," the girl added the last part after a brief pause.
"To the best of her knowledge she says. Now, that is sad. You didn't take your own advice, now did you, sweetheart," Klaus teased, propping his head up with his hand.
"I'm not your sweetheart, either. And I bet that with the way you treat people that you've been cheated on," the voice shot back.
Pausing, Klaus lowered his voice. "Yes, as a matter-of-fact, I have been cheated on, and it is a horrible feeling that I would not wish on anyone."
"Did she break your heart? Is that why you're lonely, Klaus?" she asked and Klaus closed his eyes and tried to imagine what this girl looked like.
"Yes, and no. I thought that I loved her, but I did not. I don't think I've ever been in love," he stated slowly.
"Really? Never?" the girl's voice was slightly breathless now.
"Not ever," Klaus replied. "How about you, love?"
"Me?" she hesitated. "Once or thirty times. I tend to fall for guys who like other women. You know, always someone's second, or third pick… Hey, you never answered my question about being lonely," she snapped and Klaus shook his head. She was not going to give him any way out on a single question.
"Yes, I am lonely. Now, back to you. Why is it that you pick on guys that like other women, pray tell… love?" Klaus was enjoying needling this girl.
"I don't know. And what is it that I said about calling me love?" the voice sounded annoyed but he could detect a smile on the other side of the line, maybe a touch of flirtation.
"Well, love, you have yet to offer a name," Klaus retorted with a chuckle.
"Caroline. My name is Caroline," Caroline told him and Klaus repeated the name, savoring it and storing it away for further use.
"Caroline, I would love to continue this chat, but it seems that you have run completely out of time. On behalf of the other callers, thank you for hogging up the line. I do so hope to hear from you again soon. And don't worry, love, I'm sure that you'll find someone who fancies you above all others. Until then, you will have me who will fancy you from afar. Night, love," Klaus pressed the button before Caroline could reply.
Sitting back in his seat, Klaus looked at the panel and chose a favorite of his by Louise Cottrell and got up. Unlocking the door, he tried to ignore Marcel's look of shock. "Are you in the mood for a drink?" Klaus asked his sometimes best friend/protégé/bane of his existence when he was chasing after his baby sister.
"Am I ever," Marcel joked. "What was that?" he asked as they headed out of the station and into a humid day in the fine city of New Orleans.
"What was what?" Klaus mimicked his tone with a smirk.
"That. Back there. With the woman who called in. You weren't a total ass. You sounded almost like a human. Almost. Dare I say you like her from one, little conversation?" Marcel continued with a wide grin that made Klaus want to punch him in those shiny teeth of his.
"Are you high?" Klaus snapped. "I barely know her. I have never seen her face. Besides I've been working on our infamous bartender for a month now. Can't let that hard work go to waste, now can I?"
"No, that wouldn't be like you, my man. On the other hand telling some woman you've never seen before that you 'fancy' her on-air isn't you, either. Got a fever?" Marcel reached out to touch Klaus' head when Klaus shoved him away.
Marcel began to laugh. "Uh huh. You've got it bad for a girl you're never going to speak to in person. That's rich."
"For that, you can pay for our drinks," Klaus grumbled as they entered Rousseau's. Looking at the smiling face of Cami O'Connell, all Klaus could think of was another blonde. He was not sure why he thought she would be blonde, but he was positive she was. And blue eyed. And she had a razor sharp tongue. And if Klaus ever met her he would show her what it was like to be with a man who only wanted her.
TBC
Thank you to all of you wonderful readers who fav, follow, review and read this work.
Peace,
Jessica
