"I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question."
― Harun Yahya
Caroline Forbes couldn't believe her eyes as she stood in the lobby of her hotel in Florence, Italy. She literally didn't believe them, wiping at both of her baby blues tiredly. The woman hadn't slept in over two days, so perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her, if not her contacts. Either way she tried to spin it, her hallucination of Niklaus Mikaelson wasn't going away—no matter how many times she tried to blink, or wish him away.
"No." She muttered in frustration, storming to the front desk with determination in her step. "No, no, no… have I mentioned, NO?!" She ranted irrationally as she stepped within the reach of the hybrid and tore at his shoulder violently. The man spun in 'surprise,' although the look on his face suggested that he wasn't terribly shocked at how the events were transpiring. The blonde counted her blessings; if that hadn't been Klaus, the human's arm would've probably gotten torn off by the force she used to spin him. "You cannot be here, Klaus. Seriously!" She screeched, about to embark on a long rant about needing her space from him and all the Mystic Falls craziness—especially after he pretended to be her boyfriend. While the two didn't do anything, she easily would've and the thought alone was enough to send tingles down her spine.
The blonde decided that the best thing to do was to separate herself from the madness that engulfed their town at every turn. Elena was still adjusting to becoming a vampire, so she thought that maybe her friend could use an escape, as well. And even though her brunette friend jumped at the idea getting away from it all, the Salvatore's were infinitely less impressed with her planning. Damon had scoffed the second they proposed the idea, "How do you plan on getting her there? You want the babiest of baby vamps to go on a plane ride halfway around the world… because that sounds smart." They both hated to admit it, but the man had a point.
Caroline had originally scoffed at the idea of getting away from it all and leaving her friends behind, but after the seed was planted, she couldn't seem to shake it. And the more excited that Tyler got to leave, the less that the blonde got. It was only two days prior to their planned departure that she caved, knowing that she would regret breaking up with him after the flight much more than she would by doing it beforehand. She wanted to sound strong and confident when the moment came, but she ended up rambling instead. "Ty. I… you see. I kinda don't want you to come with me? Well, it's not you that I don't want to come with me, just anyone. It's a self-discovery thing, you know?"
The hybrid had tilted his head in confusion, scratching at his hairline slowly. He had been in the process of pulling on his shoes, but now seemed unsure. "…Oh. What, do you have to buy tampons or something? I'm house broken; I can handle the dirty jobs." He teased, flexing as if to prove his point.
Caroline found herself smiling at the man. That was why she fell in love with him, because they were best friends above all. In that moment, she began to question herself. "It's not that." She said softly as she sat upon her bed, the smile glued to her face before it melted off and was replaced with tears, quick and hot. Luckily they were silent tears because if she began to sob, the blonde didn't think she'd ever recover from the embarrassment.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Tyler had mumbled with wide eyes, running beside his girlfriend and wrapping her in his consuming grip. The man was warm, and had been her beacon of safety for months now; even when he was away, the only thing that had kept Caroline strong was her faith in him. "I didn't realize Walmart made you so emotional…" He mumbled, obviously trying to lighten the mood. It worked to an extent, as she found herself chuckling beneath her tears.
"Ty.." The blonde vampire begun, but found herself pausing. She had no idea what to say to the man. She was in love with him, but wanted to discover Europe on her own? Caroline wasn't sure he'd take well to that. After all, if she really loved him, wouldn't she want him to discover those places with her? Should one be brutally honest with this kind of thing, and simply say that she didn't want to risk being chained down? It was the truth, after all. The girl wanted the liberty to do anything she pleased, should that be streaking through Paris or sleeping with a couple European men.
It also pained her to think about because she knew exactly what she was letting go. Tyler was an amazing person who would do anything in his power to make her happy—including turning into a werewolf continually, even though it caused him pain. Now she was abandoning him, and she hated herself for it. The words were formed in her throat, but nothing would give them the motivation to reach her lips.
Caroline had just accepted defeat when her significant other took the plunge for her, "You don't want me to leave with you, do you?" He asked sadly, his tone indicating that he knew the answer before he asked the question.
The blonde couldn't think of anything other than his settled sadness for the entire plane ride to Italy; the two had broken up that night, and the vampire was fairly sure that it would be for good. The second that the Tuscan sun beat upon her head, the blonde had sworn to herself to leave Mystic Falls behind completely.
That revolution lasted… oh, about fifteen minutes, which is probably a new record for the Forbes girl. The hybrid had the audacity to appear amused, "Fancy seeing you here, Caroline!" The man spoke pleasantly, addressing her in the friendly manner that one might use at a work function or some kind of retreat. Waving his key in the air as a goodbye, he strolled toward the elevator with a busboy on his heels, carrying his bags.
The woman whipped her head around after him, burning a glare into his perfect head of hair. The man was a thousand years old and apparently no one had taught him to carry his own things! She scoffed and turned back to the counter, as the desk attendant was becoming impatient for Caroline to either check in or move out of line. As reluctant as she was, the girl ended up doing the former.
The hotel room that she got was on the top floor and simple enough. There was an adjoining room, unfortunately; the thought always wigged the vampire out, even if she was technically the predator in the situation. Besides that, there was a single bed, as well as a small kitchenette, a restroom with a Jacuzzi bath and—the best part, a giant balcony. The pale girl squealed in excitement as she ran to the doors, stepping outside swiftly. The view of Florence from outside was incredible, she felt as if she could reach out and touch the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore from her own balcony.
"Brilliant, isn't it?" An all-too familiar voice quipped from the right of her, and the blonde didn't bother to hold back the groan that reached her throat. He was leaning casually against the railing, a cigarette burning slowly in his hand. The teenager had to pause and admire how cool the hybrid looked, as if he was some dangerous CIA Agent waiting for a tip to attack; she found it hilarious that the truth about him was much worse.
He was standing in the balcony adjacent to hers, and the wall separating the two was so short that she could probably hop over it. Klaus had been persistent in his pursuit of the young woman, but she would have never guessed that he would be irrational enough to hop on a plane to Italy, just because that's what she did, too.
"Remind me exactly what you're doing here again? 'Cause I've got this 'Eat, Love, Pray' thing goin' here, and I can't do that if you're in my business, Kaus-ing around."
"Klaus-ing around? Remind me how one does that, darling?"
"You know exactly how to do it; you do it all the damn time! 'Deliver my pointless ominous message and then kill yourself, vampire.'" She mimicked in a deep, fake British accent that had her companion grinning, to her dismay. "Seriously, why are you here?" She demanded at last, crossing her arms with a frown.
Klaus' gaze was unwavering, making the woman blush as he replied, "I was missing the beauty that Italy had to offer." He took a drag of his cigarette, exhaling and absentmindedly watching the smoke float above their heads and into the night sky.
Caroline couldn't help but to note that the man had dodged her question once again, but decided to let it slide, "Smoking could kill you, you know." It was a pitiful joke and they both knew it, but both laughed lightly despite that.
"I wish." His simple reply spoke volumes, and the girl found herself dreading the day that she began to think like that. She hoped that it would never occur, but who knows what a couple hundred years on Earth could do to a person.
"Can I bum one?" The vampire found herself asking, surprising even herself. She'd never cared for the habit; it always seemed dirty and smelly- but she was a European woman now, and she needed to start trying new things. The hybrid quickly retrieved his smokes and lighter, obviously aware of the thin ice that he was walking upon. After she lit up and threw him back his belongings, the girl let out a long sigh. "I'll have you know that I'm still upset with you, I've just decided to calm myself down with a smoke before I try to understand the receptionist's accent again."
The man nodded as if he was being sincere, but his eyes held a mischievous gleam to them, "Well yes, accents can be tricky little things."
Caroline took a drag of her nicotine, rolling her eyes in return. "We get it, you've been around forever and you probably speak a billion languages. Awesome!" She knew that her temper was starting to flare, but the girl couldn't understand how it seemed to be impossible to have one day free of her old life. She took a deep breath to regain her inner peace, speaking after a few moments, "Listen, I don't understand your angle. I know you probably heard that Tyler and I broke up, but that doesn't mean that I'm about to crawl into bed with you. I left to discover myself, not another man. I'm always discovering men but nothing about who I actually am; I'm done with that. Dating is bad for me at the moment, and you've been bad for me from the moment you entered my life. So, I'm going to ask you kindly one last time before I try to switch my room: will you please, please just leave?" The girl was winded, even for her, by the end of the speech; although, the cigarette might have had something to do with that.
After several minutes passed, it was quickly becoming apparent to the young vampire that her companion had no intentions of replying to her. He was looking at the ground below the balcony, likely wondering if he could survive the jump. "I see." She nodded, kicking herself from the plaster wall and throwing the butt of her cigarette off the porch.
Niklaus didn't move a muscle, even as he heard her heavy footsteps pound down the corridor of the empty resort. He already knew that the woman would find out in about five minutes that the rooms were booked solid until her last day in Italy; he'd done it himself. Still, he needed more leverage than that.
Quickly, the hybrid hopped the small wall that stood between their balconies and wandered into his vampire friend's brightly lit room. She hadn't had time to unpack, so he went with the obvious route and checked the front pocket of her luggage. Hitting gold immediately, the man retrieved the Forbes Travel Guide (taking only one minute to appreciate the irony) and quickly glanced through the pages that she'd bookmarked.
Klaus had lived in Tuscany for the majority of his two-hundreds, so he knew everywhere that she planned to visit. The man felt surprisingly satisfied with her destination choices, choosing not to compel the vampire to visit a different spot that he preferred, as was his original plan. Footsteps could be heard getting off the elevator, motivating him to return the book where he found it and returned to his room through their adjoining door; after all, no one sane wants an angry blonde on their hands.
Caroline couldn't believe the nerve of this man—no, not man, this thing! Niklaus had shamelessly followed the young woman to every tourist destination that she visited since her arrival into Italy two days ago. The man had mastered how to be a stalker; always lurking behind her in tour groups and speaking only when spoken to. It was beyond weird, considering the girl had thought that he would at the very least harass her about giving him a chance.
Not that she was complaining.
In fact, his presence seemed like a godsend when she was walking on the group tour around a particular Tuscan vineyard, the young woman lagging behind her peers so that she could be at pace with the hybrid. "It's beautiful here." She observed calmly as the sun shone on the vines, creating a truly heavenly sight.
"Speaking to me?" The hybrid asked sourly, rather immaturely in Caroline's opinion, considering the fact that she was the one who was stalked in the first place.
The blonde decided to wait a while before replying, idly listening to the rambles of their tour guide. While it was beautiful to see the vineyard, hearing about its history had gotten dull within the first minute of the guide opening his mouth. "I know that you booked every room in the hotel so that I can't move mine." She addressed finally, after having gave the half-wolf, half-vampire the silent treatment for days on end.
"I truly have no idea what you're talking about." He replied with faux-innocence, blinking his eyes widely, as if he was a child who didn't understand the accusation.
Caroline sighed at how stubborn the man could be, "You don't have to own up to it, there isn't much that I can do about that anyways. Will you at least tell me the real reason you followed me, though? This is going to be a miserable experience for the both of us if you don't." And she was dying to know. Literally, seeing the hybrid with each passing day was killing her. Plus, she had no idea how he kept figuring out what her agenda was. Perhaps he just follows her from the hotel every morning; she hadn't previously kept an eye out for him. Hmm.
What would possess this man to run away with her, without her consent? The blonde wasn't anything special; she had survived more than some, sure, but a lot of vampires went through similar peril in their long lives. The hybrid wouldn't get on a plane just because he had a case of puppy love, would he?
The thought was absurd. She reckoned that he had to have a hidden motive, or else she'd truly be lost. Still, Klaus looked sincere when he replied this time, "Traveling on your own can be quite lonesome, as I'm sure you've noticed; it isn't nearly as romantic as the novels and movies make it out to be. I'm merely here in case you need a friendly face."
For once, the words he spoke held nothing but honesty and she was startled to realize it. She didn't ask him, but the blonde didn't have to: he was worried that she would lose touch of her humanity. That was the very thing he liked about her, after all, wasn't it? He hadn't said it, but he didn't need to. What makes Caroline full of light and strong is the human side that she's clung desperately to, and the man must know that. Suddenly the thought of him seeing her feed on a local ashamed her, as if she was letting the man down somehow.
She knew that the thought was laugh-worthy; Klaus did worse things on a daily basis. The woman couldn't deny the truth in his words, however. Traveling alone was an odd occurrence for Caroline, who was accustomed to traveling with a parent or friend. The girl couldn't count the number of times that she'd turned to make a joke, only to realize that she was alone a few moments too late. It felt as if she was a speck of dust only moments away from being taken away in the wind; no one would hear or speak of her name again, as if she'd truly come and gone with the passing of the tides.
It was an odd occurrence, as well as lonely, but she wouldn't say that it was altogether unpleasant. There was something nice about being a nameless face in a crowd of people, no longer Caroline Forbes: Ms. Mystic Falls, vampire. Now she was simply a generalization, such as "that American girl."
The girl wasn't sure if she was on a downward spiral or the free fall of her life; that was the thing about heights, they always carry the same amount of adrenaline. She felt lost, but the word around the street was that you couldn't find yourself without losing your direction first.
The two watched with wide eyes as all of the tourists took off their shoes to begin taking turns stomping in grapes. The whole thing was obviously set up for a picture moment, and the teenager couldn't help but to shake her head at the situation. "They should've set the barrel facing the west… lighting is going to seriously suck there." She criticized out of habit, frowning to herself when she realized that she'd done it. Caroline had made a promise to herself to criticize less and enjoy more while she was out on her adventure, but it seemed impossible to keep. "Maybe that's my problem," She voiced aloud, "I keep thinking about this trip like it's some grand adventure, but it isn't. I'm just starting the rest of my never ending life."
Niklaus met her eyes easily, holding her gaze steadily as he replied, "It's a hard concept to grasp: eternity. Most humans never do."
Their conversation was interrupted when the over-enthusiastic guide attempted to get them to remove their shoes and join the 'fun', as he called it. After several failed attempts at waving him off, Caroline found herself reluctantly pulling off her left Converse, unsure how she got conned so easily. "How long did it take for you to grasp it?" She grunted out, gripping her companions shoulder for balance as she untied her laces quickly.
When she knelt down to remove her socks and put them in her black shoes, the girl glanced back toward Klaus' face and relished in the view. She never had much time to look at him without the man catching her, and so she rarely got to bask in his beauty. The woman was still in awe of how handsome the Big Bad is, to be honest. "I still haven't." He reluctantly admitted after a few beats, surprising the woman with his honesty.
She couldn't imagine being a thousand and having no idea when you were going to die; obviously Klaus had a will to live, as just about everyone was trying to find a way to kill him, but if that was Caroline, she would surely want her life to be over at that point. The woman stood at last, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "I hope you realize that you're doing this ridiculousness with me."
"I beg to differ." He grinned, as if the idea alone was off the charts hilarious.
Caroline crossed her arms with a frown, "You're the one who insisted that we have this honeymoon, sweetie, so either stomp in the grapes or you'll be wearing them before we leave here." She finished the sentence with a force smile, pulling out the old reliable 'bitch' card from her back pocket.
Not that she would ever admit it, but the blonde was kind of amazed when he knelt on the ground to take off his shoes. She'd never witnessed the hybrid let loose at all, but for some reason the mental image of him giggling and smashing grapes with his bare feet was one that she had to have made into reality. "Only if you promise to be this feisty in bed later, lover." He purred back, obviously playing up their recent engagement.
The blonde didn't follow for several moments, until she glanced toward the tour group and caught wind at the fact that they were being stared at by everyone on it. The tour guides Italian accent was particularly heavy as he spoke, "Naughty newlyweds." And then followed it up with something in Italian; the vampire was fairly sure she didn't want it translated, if the mischievous grin on Klaus' face spoke for anything at all.
Caroline rolled her eyes, walking over to the now empty tub of grapes. Usually the girl was all for hands-on interaction on a tour, but she couldn't help but to wonder where some of these tourists feet had been. Either way, she had gone too far to turn back, so she stepped in with no regrets. A giggle lulled its way to the back of her throat, "Oooh, that feels weird. Babe, you have to come try this." She squeaked out before she even realized that she'd said it.
They'd only been playing newlyweds but as their eyes met, Caroline knew that he could see right through her. The young woman had been careless and called him a name that implied that she was comfortable around him; giving the poor hybrid false hope, she was sure. She didn't want to hurt him, but she simply couldn't allow herself to succumb to him. The vampire was too stubborn, and giving into the man would mean losing a major inner battle.
Niklaus walked to the woman as if he was drawn to her, stepping into the tub and standing mere inches from the blonde girl. There was something heartbreakingly beautiful about the genuine smile that the man gave her as he stepped around in the mushy grapes, and she found herself wondering if he'd ever done that exact thing to make actual wine. She could almost see the flashback play in his mind like a movie, of sometime hundreds of years ago.
Being around the Original vampire gave the girl a reason to wake up every morning, if only to remind her that life goes on; he's lived through everything, and still remains. The young woman couldn't help but to speculate as to what she'll look back on in several hundred years. However, none of that meant that she could be with him. She could still see the hope in his eyes, and it was killing her. She hated herself for speaking when she did either way, "I'm sorry."
Klaus was as smooth as always, wrapping one arm around the woman's waist and taking her hand in his with the other. They were slow dancing in the grape tub, and just when Caroline thought that it was too cute to be true: the tour guide pulled out a ukulele and started playing a tune, as if they were in some cheesy romantic comedy. A laugh escaped the woman, even if she tried to keep it forced down. "For?" He asked, pointedly ignoring her outburst.
Her blue eyes met his, and they remained in contact as she explained: "I don't know. Being friendly?" Finally, she dropped his gaze and decided to admire the scenery instead. "I'm never going to be okay with us being together… not after everything."
The girl had expected her companion to get annoyed with the woman for rejecting him again, but he surprised her instead, as he always seemed to be doing. "I understand what you believe about our future together."
"And?" She prodded, unsure where he was going with this.
The man was always one to meet her eyes, holding his stare with an intensity that made her knees weak. "And I refuse to accept it as reality."
Caroline couldn't decide if he was pathetic or admirable, but it didn't matter either way; the hybrid seemed fairly set in his ways no matter the conclusion that she reached. The drive back to the hotel was a long one, filled with silence and the static of the talk radio; although it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as the blonde would've guessed that it would be. It was relaxed in the car, as if they really were a pair of tired newlyweds retiring to their hotel to pass out, or not.
For the last two weeks that Caroline stayed in Florence, her hybrid followed obediently. She found that his presence was comforting, if nothing else; he knew the language and had a sarcastic quip to any complaint she may want to voice aloud. However, she was sure to hide the train ticket she'd bought to her next destination, and was also standing over the hybrid's shoulder as she forced him to buy a plane ticket back to the U.S., just to make sure that the old dog didn't keep up with his tricks.
"You do realize that money isn't an object, correct?" He asked as they navigated around the website. "I would buy a hundred tickets to America if it made you happy, sweetheart." His voice was like sugar; alluring at first taste, but it'll eventually give you diabetes. Okay, it was more alluring than disease fairing. Still.
She gave him a pointed look as they finished the transaction, slamming the black laptop closed easily. "Well, luckily for us both, you only need one. "
Klaus shook his head, "Let's play a game where you pretend like you won't miss me when I depart." She was going to, and she knew it. "Wait, I'm afraid we were already playing that one…" The man tapped his chin with his pointer finger, as if they were in some sort of debacle.
With a snort and the flick of a specific finger, the girl stood to leave his hotel room; shouting over her shoulder as she went, "Let's not pretend like you're actually going back home."
It seemed that they both knew each other better than what was originally thought.
This was one of those plot bunnies that just hopped into my head out of nowhere. I thought that it would be cute for Klaus to follow our girl around Europe while she discovered it, whether she liked it or not. It seemed very Klaroline in fashion. I started this as an oneshot, but I'm thinking of turning into something fo'real. Let me know if you'd be interested in reading it in a review, please!
Also, I think I'm going to attempt to post something every day in anticipation of TVD returning in 6 days! I am just that excited….