A/N: Sweet, innocent, maybe a lil' weird. I wrote this story in one sitting. It's short and an AU/AH, so it probably won't be everybody's favourite thing in the world due to Klaus not being a bloodthirsty vampire. But if you like it, that's great! Also, I have something in the works where Klaus is a bloodthirsty vampire, so maybe keep an eye out for that.
Title comes from the Walt Whitman poem of the same name, and it is also referenced in the film Dead Poets Society.
Enjoy.
O Captain! My Captain!
It was too hot to be outside. Southern Virginia in mid-June was no friend to gym classes. Because of the outrageous heat—103 degrees Fahrenheit, to be exact—Mr. Tanner decided to keep them in. Caroline Forbes was glad for it. She despised the humid weather, mainly for its adverse effect on her sweat glands, but the way it frizzed her gorgeous blond locks didn't help, either.
They were rounded up in the centre of the gym. Mr. Tanner stood in front of them, his favourite whistle hanging around his neck. He swerved his eyes and moved around, making sure to look each of the twenty students in the eye before he opened his mouth.
"Are you guys ready for this?"
Caroline nudged her best friend Bonnie and the two girls had to work hard to hold in their inappropriate giggles. If there was one thing Mr. Tanner hated more than when the Mystic Falls High Timberwolves lost their football games, it was when kids laughed out of turn.
Not that they were really kids. Each person in the room was of age. They were the seniors who had opted to keep up with gym due to their athletic tendencies. Mr. Tanner adored each of them, really, but he would still yell if someone laughed at an unsuitable time. Caroline remembered unceremoniously chuckling her first day as a freshman when Damon Salvatore—a repeat freshman forced to be in a gym class with his little brother—face planted after trying to dunk a basketball. Tanner shouted at her in front of everyone for her discrepancy, which only made Damon stare smugly at her the rest of the period.
She cried in the locker room for almost five minutes after gym finished and was late to her next class. Ever since she had learned to keep her mouth shut whenever something funny happened in Mr. Tanner's gymnasium.
"Come on, people, are you ready for this?" Tanner repeated, and the crowd around him cheered as loud as they could. He smiled. "Perfect. Alright, the game is dodgeball. You know the rules. Girls versus boys, with Mikaelson and Forbes leading. Let's see who can win this battle of the sexes. Break." Tanner blew his whistle loudly and the group of seniors disbanded, the girls following Caroline to the basketball hoop nearest their locker room, the boys following Klaus Mikaelson to the hoop nearest theirs.
When the other nine girls had settled around her, their bodies forming a crescent-shaped shield, Caroline clapped her hands together, her heart racing as she mentally prepared her pep talk.
"Alright, girls," she said, looking at her teammates, "this is it. The last class of our last day of senior year. As soon as this game is over, we leave the grounds forever. Well, we leave the grounds until graduation next week, but you get my point." Caroline took in a deep breath. Each woman surrounding her was wholly absorbed in her words, all of them nodding along. "It is our time to show those asshole guys what we're made of. Time to beat their asses into the ground with our superior dodgeball playing skills. We will not be defeated by them. We will exit this gymnasium champions! Too long have women in sports been looked down upon, but we are going to go out there and prove we are the stronger sex."
"Hell yeah!" Bonnie cheered, pumping her fist in the air.
Caroline grinned at her best friend, so happy in that moment they were headed to the same university in the fall. She couldn't last without Bonnie Bennet in her life. "Elena and Kat," Caroline pointed at the Gilbert twins, "you two are taking the left side. Klaus will place Stefan and Tyler there, but you can't fear them. You must crush them. Anna and Lexi, you'll take the right. Matt and Lucian'll have that side. Rose, help us from the back. You're the tallest and you've got a good throw. Bon and I will be up front with Klaus and Stefan. The rest of you are our backup. Everyone good with that?"
Nobody challenged Caroline's placements. They understood how well she knew Klaus Mikaelson's mind. There was no questioning if her calls were correct. If she said it, it would end up being true. Her girls nodded in agreement and Caroline called them to put their hands in.
"This is our last chance to defeat them," she said, noting the excited energy rising in the room. "Let's do this. Down with the boys on three. One, two"—
—"DOWN WITH THE BOYS!" the girls cried, throwing their hands in the air.
"Let's go!"
Caroline pushed her teammates towards the lined up red and black balls. They all lined up accordingly and Caroline smiled to herself when, after they broke—DOWN WITH THE GIRLS (how original)—the boys all took their spots exactly where Caroline had said they would.
Klaus came to stand directly in front of her on the other side of the line.
"I'm gonna bring you down, Mikaelson," she vowed, raising an eyebrow. She bent at the knees and bounced on her feet.
"I'd like to see you try, Forbes," he responded, smirking his famous smirk.
Frowning, Caroline stretched her arms. Klaus Mikaelson was captain of the cross country team. His bronzed curls, lean body, and English accent (and let's not forget that aforementioned smirk) got all the girls at their school hot and bothered. Caroline had to admit he looked good in a gym uniform. The red somehow brought out the blues of his eyes and the light tan on his usually pale skin.
The two were standing so close she could smell the hint of lavender in the cologne he had sprayed on his chest. She loved the scent of lavender.
Shaking her head, the blond-haired team captain shook out her legs and arms, reminding herself to glare at the boy standing opposite her.
"Is everybody ready?" Tanner asked from he sidelines. He held his whistle inches from his mouth.
"Ready," Caroline and Klaus said in unison. Oh, she was going to beat him so bad he would bruise.
"Okay! Let's dodgeball!" Tanner blew his whistle and the game began.
Caroline lunged forward and reached out for the ball nearest her. She beat Klaus to it, snatching the red ball and retreating from the centre line. There was a frenzy of squeaking trainers as the separate teams attempted to gather up the remaining balls.
"Nice work!" Caroline applauded when the line was clear and her team came away with the most weapons.
Rotating the ball in her hands, she watched as Elena Gilbert chucked her black ball into Tyler Lockwood's knee. The raven-haired football captain staggered back. Tanner's whistle let out a shrill whine, announcing Lockwood's exit from the game. He limped off court, throwing an angry look towards Elena.
Caroline threw the ball in her hands towards Matt Donovan, a footballer as well. It brushed his shoulder, forcing him to drop the ball he was holding to the floor. Tanner blew his whistle twice, and Caroline looked briefly around, watching as Lexi angrily stomped off the court. Her replacement came off the bench, giving Caroline a high five as she passed.
"Come on, ladies, we can do this!" Caroline said as she dodged a throw made by Stefan Salvatore. Reaching down, she managed to grab a ball and lob it back to her tormenter, smacking him square in the gut. Winded, Stefan retreated. "Keep it up!"
The game continued. Caroline's blood pumped like fire through her veins. The whole room was making a fuss, cheering on their separate team. Tanner's whistle blew every few seconds as the tough black and red balls were thrown all around the room, knocking players out left and right. She watched out of the corner of her eye as a ball slammed into Bonnie's shoulder, and her best friend ran for the bleachers after flipping a very discreet middle finger to her attacker.
"You can do it, Caroline! He's got nothing on you!" she exclaimed as she sat down.
Caroline glanced at the sidelines, shaking out of her reverie. She had been so focused on the game she had failed to realise the only two players that remained on the court were her and Klaus Mikaelson. Most of the balls were on Caroline's side of the court, but Klaus had two he could easily chuck in her direction. She knew his footwork, though. Knew his strategies. Ever since they came head to head in a girls versus boys soccer match when they were twelve, she had made it a point to study his game. Maybe she could still win this one.
Bending down, Caroline grabbed the red ball nearest her. The bouncy, plastic material felt wet and hot. She tossed it in her hands. Threw it to the ground and caught it as it came back up. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and opened her mouth to let it out. She was ready for this.
Klaus had no ball. He was biding his time. Standing before her with nothing but his hard face, he flared his nostrils and swiped his sweaty hands on his dark red shirt.
"It all ends here, Mikaelson," she said, bouncing the ball on the ground. The crowd was silent. The only noise in the room was the sound of her ball hitting the wooden gym floor. "This game is mine."
"In your dreams, Forbes. I'll find a way out of this."
"Oh, yeah? The two balls on your side of the line are out of reach. One move and I throw this thing so hard you'll be telling your friends for years to come about that last day of senior year and the awesome, spectacular, gorgeous blond who knocked your front teeth out with a dodgeball."
Klaus' lips lifted briefly in a half-smile. "You'll be paying for the dental work, love," he said, his use of the word love accelerating Caroline's heartbeat. "Besides, I've got something up my sleeve."
She knew what he had up his sleeve. Quick dodge to the left to grab the nearest ball. But Caroline was ready for that. She was also ready for the four backup plans he could potentially employ should his first plan fail. She intended to get to him before he had time to find his footing.
Checking the clock above the exit, Caroline noted they only had five minutes before the bell released them. She needed to end this quick.
"You've always got something up your sleeve. When will you learn that I'm always two, five, ten steps ahead of you, though?" she taunted. "In dodgeball, in English, in life. Give it up, Mikaelson. I've already won."
The spectators couldn't keep their mouths shut after that remark. Their friends rose to their feet and started chanting. Even Tanner joined them, just as into the game as his students.
Klaus lowered his heavy forehead. His brows moved down. Caroline couldn't see his eyes anymore.
In a flash, Klaus Mikaelson dove to the left—of course; it was so obvious—and reached for the black ball a few feet away, but Caroline Forbes was poised for the kill. She threw the ball in her hands with all that she had, clipping her opponent on the forearm before his fingertips grazed the ball he had originally lunged for. And just like that, the game, the year, her life as a high school student, was over.
Their classmates poured out from the bleachers. All of the girls surrounded a panting Caroline as the bell rang for the final time.
"You did it!" Bonnie shrieked, squeezing Caroline tight.
"I did, I did!" she responded, eyes meeting Klaus' as he was comforted by his pals. She could see them again. The blue in them calmed her, like it always did. She pulled away from Bonnie. "But I couldn't have done it without all of you girls. Thanks so much"—
—"Shower time, ladies," Mr. Tanner interrupted. "You can give your thank you speech in the locker room."
Dismissed, the girls headed for their changing room, laughing freely now they were not bound by Mr. Tanner's silly rules.
"Bye, Caroline," Bonnie said, blowing Caroline a kiss as she exited the locker room. "I'll see you on Sunday for dress shopping!"
"Bye, Bon!"
Caroline applied a dusting of translucent powder to her face, white fluffy towel still wrapped around her body. She liked being the last person out of the locker room. It gave her enough time to get herself ready for whatever the rest of the day had in store.
Done with her makeup, she threw on her Last Day of High School outfit, a white dress with an embroidered rose on the hem, and closed her gym locker. She inspected herself in the full-length mirror by the exit door and, satisfied with her look, opened the door and stepped out into the outrageous heat. Already, she could feel her makeup sliding off of her face.
Caroline went around the school to the back lot and found a black Mustang soft top blocking her path. Leaning against the driver's side door, arms folded and sunglasses atop his curly-haired head, was none other than Klaus Mikaelson, decked out in a grey t-shirt and his favourite dark jeans. How he wasn't dead wearing long trousers was beyond her. Weren't the English supposed to despise hot weather?
"Waiting for a rematch, Mikaelson?" she jeered, adjusting the strap of her backpack as she approached him.
He placed his hands inside of his pockets and gave her a shrug. There was a bruise forming where she had hit him with the ball. "You beat me fair and square, Forbes. I won't contest that."
"Good." She stopped just short of reaching him. There was that lavender scent again. It lingered beneath her nose. "How long have you been waiting?"
Klaus' face broke out into a wide smile. He opened his arms and Caroline stepped into his grasp, burying her face in his t-shirt. "Long enough. You always take forever to get ready. Sometimes I contemplate just leaving you here to walk home."
"Hey." She caught his gaze. "I do most of this for you, you know."
"I like you the way you are. You don't need to put makeup on to impress me anymore. It's been three years, love. I'm comfortable looking at you with a clean face."
Grinning like a lovesick fool, Caroline closed the tiny gap between her and Klaus, cementing her lips over his. Warmth that had nothing to do with the overbearing sun crept beneath Caroline's skin.
"You're only saying that," Caroline said between kisses, "because you're afraid I'll bruise your other arm."
"I am not."
"Are too."
"Okay, maybe I am."
Caroline laughed into Klaus' mouth before pulling away. "Come on. Let's go to the Grill to celebrate."
"Celebrate what?" Klaus asked as she got inside the car. "The end of the school year or you beating me at dodgeball."
Smiling up at her boyfriend, Caroline said, "Both. Now get in. I'm sweating my skin off in this heat."