"Caroline, come on!"
She hears them calling her name but in that moment, she's too entranced by the dancer on the television to look away. Her eyes eagerly take in the lithe and graceful movements of the young woman as she spins around, her beautiful skirt flowing around her in a way she aims to imitate whenever she's at her own dance class when she envisions herself older and up on that stage looking as beautiful and graceful as the dancer on the screen.
She hears a bike break behind her but she doesn't turn. It's probably one of her friends getting impatient.
"That's going to be me one day," the blonde bubbly six year-old breathes out excitedly when the dancer bows after finishing her number.
The response that follows her comment has her snapping her head around in surprise and she's met by dimples and blue eyes that echo his words.
"Again from the top. Caroline, you need to watch your timing. You almost came in late there. Pay more attention, hm?"
She apologizes with a sheepish smile and absentmindedly pushes back some of the hair that had come undone from her bun as she went to resume her place.
"You okay?" she hears her partner ask quietly as he moves to take his place too.
She turns to find him regarding her almost curiously.
"Yeah," she smiles. "I'm fine."
She can tell he doesn't quite believe her but thankfully they get started again, putting an end to that conversation as soon he's moving along with the other dancers while she stands back and waits for her cue.
As she stands there, watching the other dancers moving so beautifully and gracefully, it's hard for her not to be reminded of the dancer on the screen and his words from that day that had somehow remained with her throughout the years.
"That's going to be me one day."
"I know."
xxx
Caroline sighs as she walks through her front door hours later, feeling more than exhausted and ready to take a long hot bath and just crawl into bed.
Her roommate looks up from where he's perched on the couch with the TV blaring in front of him before he turns off the sound.
"Good evening roomie. How were rehearsals?" he asks almost amusedly as he takes in the way she's practically dragging her duffel bag behind her.
"Long," she grumbles. "I should've listened to my mother and been an accountant."
He smirks as he stands up.
"Ideal on paper but I don't think you would've appreciated it all that much in practice. For starters, didn't you tell me you were terrible at math?" he jokes, grinning at her over his shoulder while she scowls at him.
"I told you I hated math, there's a difference!" she protests and he shoots her a too amused look that has her glaring at him.
"Come on don't be grumpy with me, I made us dinner," he says as he walks into their kitchen and proudly points to the mac-and-cheese in the small pot. "Tell me again who the best roommate is?"
Her lips twitch when her attention falls on the discarded mac-and-cheese boxes sitting on the edge of the counter and looks back at her roommate, looking down at her with such a proud look on his face and she can see the pride gleaming in those brown eyes. She can't bring herself to even attempt to make a joke about his choice of cuisine.
"I haven't eaten since breakfast so you're kind of a lifesaver," she smiles. "Thank you."
"Go set your stuff down, I'll serve the plates," he offers and she nods with a grateful smile.
When she comes back, he's set a bowl with generous servings of the cheesy meal for each of them and she readily takes the empty seat across from him.
"So are you all packed for next week?"
She tries not to tense at the mention of her upcoming trip and who precisely would be there.
"I was probably going to get to that this weekend," she tries to respond nonchalantly, taking another bite of her food.
His next words have her immediately regretting that action.
"Good, I'm sure your friends will be happy to hear that. You got a call from a Kol Mikaelson today-"
She starts to choke on that mouthful.
"You alright there gorgeous?" he asks, looking at her closely as if looking for any indication he should put that CPR class she had dragged him to a month ago to use.
"Fine," she manages to get out after she's stopped coughing.
He looks at her for a moment longer, as if he doesn't believe her.
"When did Kol call?" she asks almost hesitantly, no small part of her wondering how in the hell he got her home number before she remembers she gave it to Bonnie in case she couldn't reach her on her cell.
Yet another decision she suddenly regrets for the moment.
"A few hours ago?" he guesses. "He wanted to confirm you were in fact going next week and to remind you that short of actually being dead or in a coma, you had no excuse for not being there."
At this, she can't help but roll her eyes though it's only half-heartedly.
"Typical Kol," she mumbles.
"He sounds like an interesting bloke," Enzo comments. "He even invited me to come along to the festivities claiming that the more the merrier."
This time she smiles because yeah, that definitely sounded like the Kol she remembered.
"Does he make it a point to invite any random person to his celebrations?" he inquires curiously.
"Let's just say back in high school, Kol's parties were pretty much considered unofficial school events since he basically invited everyone and everything," she recalls with a smirk as she digs into her food again.
"Is that how you scored invites then?" he jokes, making her throw her crumpled napkin at him while fighting back a smile.
He smirks and easily dodges it. He picks up another bite of his dinner before looking back up at her.
"Question. This Kol Mikaelson wouldn't have any relation to the Klaus Mikaelson you've been forcing me to watch on my TV screen every Saturday night does he?"
She doesn't think she's ever been more thankful that she hadn't taken another bite of food than she was in that moment.
She knows he's waiting for an answer and even though she'd rather not be having this discussion, she knows she can't entirely dodge it either.
"They're sort of brothers," she answers quickly. "And for the record, I may have forced you to watch at first but don't pretend you're totally not a fan now. I know you sometimes watch it without me, Lorenzo St. John!" she points a finger, her voice coming out a little louder than she intended it to.
He gapes at her for a second before he quickly shakes his head.
"Don't try to change the subject Forbes," he argues, pointing a finger at her too. "Your celebrity crushes' brother -oh don't give me that look I've seen how you stare at him on screen- knows you well enough to call you on our landline and you never mentioned knowing his family until now?" he asks incredulously. "Those are the gossip-worthy stories friends share with other friends."
Now it's her turn to shoot him a look.
"Hold on a minute. Have you actually met Klaus Mikaelson in person?"
She almost laughs even though there's nothing really amusing about it. She thinks about his question again, wondering how she even began to answer it.
"Caroline? Caroline are you okay?"
"Does it hurt?"
The four year-old looks up at her friends, sniffling as she stands back up, the tears freely streaming down her face now. The afterschool playground keeper is nowhere around to notice.
"Caroline it was the new kid who threw his ball at you," little Elena Gilbert says as she looks over at the pair of siblings who along with their family had moved to their small town recently.
Caroline looks over at them too, her tears now a mixture of pain and anger as she took in the boys standing across the playground from her, having heard a laugh come from their area just as the ball hit her.
Both boys are looking at her too but her gaze is trained on the older one who looked like he was six or seven. The sandy-haired one. She'd seen him only one other time from afar, in the town square with his family. She doesn't even know his name but she does know he's the same one she had noticed watching her earlier when she played a game of tag with her friends. The same one who had been kicking the ball around. The very ball that had somehow ended up hitting her on the back of the head and knocking her over.
"Sorry, it was an accident," the sandy-haired boy says as he reaches her, his eyes trained on her the entire time.
"You hurt my friend!" Elena pipes up before he can say anything.
"It was an accident-" he starts to repeat when they're interrupted by a newcomer.
"What's going on here?"
Caroline wipes at her tears as she looks at the older lady who spoke funny just like the boy in front of her and realizes that must be his mom.
The woman looks between the group of kids before turning her attention back to her sandy-haired son.
"Niklaus?"
Niklaus.
Caroline hears his name and stores it away almost like she knows that name's going to be important to her.
She almost smirks at the memory of how they used to tease her that she made her first enemy at the age of four.
"Earth to Caroline?"
Caroline fidgets with her fork almost nervously before responding.
"We…kind of grew up together. Bonnie, Kol, Klaus, we all did."
He's gaping at her again and it takes him a moment before he speaks again.
"And you never felt the need to mention this in the what? 6? 7 months since we've been rooming together? Not even during all those times we were watching him on our screen basically every week?"
She bites back a sigh as she sets down her fork.
"I didn't really see the point," she says with a wry smile, continuing when he gave her an incredulous look. "We all grew up together and yeah, Klaus and I were close friends. Eventually," she adds with a hint of an involuntary smile.
Once they got past their feud that started that day he threw the ball at her head and lasted almost two years.
Friends. Except for those times they were more.
"And then…?"
She feels a knot form in her throat but forces herself to speak anyway.
"I guess… we just drifted apart," she tries to say lightly with a slight shrug but her voice doesn't come out as convincing as she wishes it did. "It's all part of the grand circle of life isn't it?"
It's not the whole story, not even close, but it's all she can really bring herself to share in that moment.
"And I'm assuming he's going to be there on this trip next week?"
"Probably," she answers trying to appear nonchalant about the whole thing.
She can tell Enzo isn't that convinced either but he must see something on her face that keeps him from pushing it, something she's really grateful for.
"Perhaps you'll have to pester his brother for spoilers after that last bloody cliffhanger then," Enzo says with a smirk as he takes a bite of his food.
She laughs a little at that and nods and the two fall into a quiet silence for a moment.
"So are you coming?" she asks, looking up at him with a quirked brow and sees him look at her questioningly.
"I feel like there's some innuendo in there-"
He laughs when she throws the plastic fork sitting on the table at him.
"Are you being serious gorgeous?" he asks with raised eyebrows. "You really want me to go on this trip?"
She's excited to see Bonnie and the others, but the thought of having her roommate around too doesn't seem so bad.
"Why not?" she shrugs. "Kol obviously doesn't mind if you come and trust me, neither will Bonnie. So far I think you hold the highest roommate approval from her," she jokes. "I think it'll be fun and like you said, after that last cliffhanger, we definitely need some spoilers and maybe I'd be more successful if I had you there to tag team him with."
He smirks amusedly and shrugs too.
"Why not?" he agrees.
"Really?" she laughs lightly. "Just like that?"
"I am my own boss and we all know I can never pass up a good celebration anyway though hopefully this one doesn't end with a shoe up my ass."
She laughs again, once again regretting that she hadn't been there to witness that moment.
"And if it does, I'll be there to record it don't worry," she jokes.
He throws a crumpled napkin at her that she dodges and the two resume eating their dinner for another few minutes before he suddenly looks up at her with furrowed brows as if he just realized something.
"So where exactly is this grand celebration taking place?"
xxx
It's late by the time she's finally getting into bed, having maybe soaked in that bath and her thoughts for a little too long but at least her muscles are more relaxed now.
She sits on the edge of the bed by her nightstand and takes out an old photo album and turns to an old but familiar picture. It's one of her and her friends taken at the Grill.
She remembers everything about that night. Aside from it being one of the first times she was one of the leads in something that wasn't a high school production, it was also the night before he left for New Orleans.
"Congratulations, sweetie. You were amazing."
Caroline hugs her mom with a small laugh, still feeling a bit of a high from the performance and the applause still ringing in her ears.
"Thank you," she smiles as she pulls back, taking in the sheriff's uniform. "Did you come here straight from the station?"
"Yes, and unfortunately I have to head back there right now," Liz says regretfully. "We're down a deputy tonight so things are more hectic than usual."
Caroline feels a small pang of disappointment, a part of her having wanted to celebrate with her mother for at least a little while. She'd been working so much lately, she felt like she rarely saw her anymore.
"I'm sorry Caroline, we'll go out to lunch this weekend to celebrate," Liz offers and Caroline plasters on a smile.
"It's okay. Pretty sure my friends wanted to do something tonight anyway," she says and Liz nods.
"Okay, just be careful and not too late," Liz says in that authoritative voice that's gotten more pronounced since she was named sheriff.
Caroline nods and Liz hugs her once more before leaving her as some of the other girls from the show crowd around the blonde, all congratulating one another on the show.
"There she is! Our star of the hour. Where's your other half?"
Caroline rolls her eyes amusedly and turns to see the dark-haired and mischievous Mikaelson walking towards her, shooting flirtatious looks and smiles at the other dancers.
"What are you doing here, Kol?"
"Just wanted to congratulate you on the performance tonight. As mother would say, it was a magical evening," he croons, making her laugh and roll her eyes again.
"Uh huh," she nods with feigned seriousness. "Don't pretend you're not back here looking to flirt with Bonnie some more."
He smirks unabashedly, leaving her with a wink when he spots the pretty brunette.
Caroline hangs back and watches, unable to help the laugh that escapes her when she sees Kol pretend to bow before Bonnie before taking her hand and bringing it up to his lips while Bonnie does her best to maintain an unimpressed stare but even from where she's standing, Caroline can see the smile pulling on her friend's lips.
"Well he certainly knows how to lay it on thick doesn't he?" she hears another smooth and familiar accented voice and quickly turns around and is greeted by an equally familiar face.
"You came," she says, surprise and happiness coloring her face and tone.
"Where else would I be?" he smirks. "These are for you so you don't say I never got you anything," he adds jokingly as he hands her a small bouquet of her favorite flowers and she accepts it with a smile, ducking her head to sniff them to hide the small blush coloring her cheeks.
"What were you saying about laying it on too thick?" she teases and smiles a little more when she hears him chuckle.
"Some would call it being me my usual charming self," he retorts with a hint of those dimples.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night Mikaelson," she shoots back with a playful eye roll. "But these are beautiful, thank you," she adds earnestly before arching a brow and looking up at him amusedly when she spots one flower she knows did not come included with the others and it reminds her of the single flower he randomly gave her one day when she was 10, after he swiped it from his neighbor's yard during a game of hide and seek. "Did you steal this from the McKinney's garden again?"
"Do you believe me capable of doing such a thing?" he replies all too innocently though the wicked mirth dancing in his eyes betrays him.
"I know you're capable of far worst," she laughs under her breath and moves in to give him a hug, noting how even though he's gotten better about hugs over the years, he still tenses ever so slightly before he wraps his arms around her.
She pulls away before she can linger on how nice it feels and takes a step back.
At 16, she hasn't quite mastered the whole "discreetly checking out cute boys" thing quite yet even if said "cute boy" was one of her childhood friends that she should definitely not be checking out.
"Does my outfit suffice for tonight's occasion?"
She looks up and catches the smirk on his lips as he gives her a pointed look and fights back the color threatening to appear on her face again as she rolls her eyes.
"I've seen worse," she shrugs nonchalantly.
"Ouch. Shouldn't you be nicer to me?" he chuckles. "I'm leaving town tomorrow after all."
She feels her smile briefly falter before she quickly tries to mask it.
"So I've been hearing all summer," she replies. "Rebekah and Kol won't shut up about who's getting your room now that you're gonna be gone."
"I'm surrounded by vultures," he smiles wryly.
"I'm surprised you're here tonight," she admits. "I thought you'd be packing?"
"Already finished," he replies proudly and normally she would be impressed with his ability to pack everything at the last minute if it weren't for the fact that this news just made her feel…sad.
"Really?" she tries to say to keep the conversation going, the question coming out more incredulous than she meant it to.
"Don't sound so surprised," he retorts with a smirk. "But yes, really. You didn't really think I'd miss your big night and risk your wrath did you?"
Despite his smirk, she can see the seriousness in his eyes and she feels something tug on her chest as a soft smile forms on her face.
"I knew I was friends with you for a reason," she jokes and he grins at her.
"You look beautiful tonight," he continues and even though he's Klaus and he really shouldn't affect her, she feels her face burn a little at his words and the way he's looking at her in that moment.
She notices the way his smile grows, almost like he's reading her thoughts, so she clears her throat and sticks her chin out almost proudly.
"Thank you. We all really worked hard to make sure we were ready for tonight and I don't just mean work on our make-up."
That much was certainly true. She'd lost track of the number of times she'd all but crawled into bed after long nights at rehearsal. Most of her summer had been spent in the small dance studio.
"Well it certainly showed," he chuckles. "You were fantastic up there."
She smiles at the compliment and honesty in his voice.
"So what now?" he asks.
She arches a brow and looks at him questioningly.
"You've conquered this one pony town so what comes next? Where will your next stage be?" he elaborates and she watches that almost devilish grin that appears again. "I believe you had mentioned New York? Or are you thinking something a little further from home? Like Rome?"
She scoffs and shakes her head with an incredulous laugh.
"Paris?"
She shoots him a look.
"Tokyo?" he continues with that teasing and dimpled grin.
She laughs again and even though she knows he's teasing her, part of her knows that he's being serious. That he really does believe she can make it there and honestly whenever she was around him, sometimes she could almost believe it too.
Still, she can't help but shake her head at the idea.
"Yeah, unless you're offering to take me, I don't think I'll be visiting any of those places any time soon," she chuckles.
"Well then I suppose I'll have to take you," he smiles. "Wherever you want."
She rolls her eyes.
Even though she knew he only saw her as a friend, it seemed that 'shameless flirting' was encoded into Klaus Mikaelson's DNA. Or maybe it was a Mikaelson thing.
"I think there's only one trip you should be thinking about right now," she comments and she wonders if these last words sound as strained as they felt coming out of her mouth.
Before he can say anything though, she catches sight of Tatia Petrova glowering in their direction.
"Why is your girlfriend giving us the stink eye?" she asks, turning to look at him.
He glances in the direction she was just looking and watches as the brunette glares at him before pointedly looking away.
He shrugs, seemingly unfazed.
"Don't know," he replies simply. "Also, not my girlfriend."
"What? Since when?!" she asks disbelievingly.
"A couple of weeks."
Weeks?
"Why didn't you say anything?" she blurts out and watches as his lips twitch.
"I didn't realize you cared?" he retorts with a hint of amusement coloring his voice and face.
She scowls even though she knows he has a point. She'd more or less made it a point to avoid hanging out with the couple if she could help it.
"It's called trying to be a good friend," she still argues. "You know, offering support and all that stuff?"
He chuckles but she glances at him almost tentatively.
"Are you okay?"
Even though she'd never been the biggest fan of Elena's older cousin (the girl was a little too flirtatious with Klaus' older brother Elijah for her liking), she knew that Klaus had actually really liked the brunette. She had suspected he maybe even loved her.
She feels her chest constrict at this last thought just like it did the first night she saw Klaus and Tatia together but just like then, she tries to shake it. She and Klaus were friends. Only friends and considering how they fought each other tooth and nail for several years, they were lucky they could even call themselves friends today.
"Yes," he replies almost amusedly, "I'm fine."
She looks at him disbelievingly and studies him closely, looking for any sign that contradicts his words.
"If you're looking for me to break down, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed," he remarks with that hint of amusement growing more pronounced and she meets his gaze to see the mirth dancing in his eyes causing her to scowl again. "It really is fine, Caroline," he assures her, knowing she's not going to drop this. "Long distance simply doesn't work," he says simply. "It's better to leave like this with a clean break."
"A clean break to date all those cute, smart and artsy college girls?" she quips.
"I was actually going to say so that I could focus on my studies but it's nice to know where your mind is," he teases, giving her a look that makes her narrow her eyes at him.
"There you are!" Rebekah exclaims as she spots them and makes her way over to them. "You still haven't changed?" she adds with a frown. "Oh bloody hell, Nik, you can distract her later!"
She ignores Klaus' offended look and complaint that on the contrary, Caroline's always the one distracting him, and turns to her instead.
"Come on, we need to go celebrate! You showed up everyone on that stage, we made varsity cheer squad, and it's Nik's last night in town! We needed to be celebrating 10 minutes ago!"
Caroline laughs and raises her hands in defeat after Rebekah shoots her an impatient look when she doesn't move to go change right away.
"I'm going! I'm going!"
In the end, Kol, Bonnie and Matt end up joining them and the group ends up at the Mystic Grill for a few hours, talking, laughing and indulging in too much greasy food and rounds of pool until they're being kicked out since the little restaurant's closing for the night. They all decide on going back to the Mikaelson's for those drinks Rebekah had been wanting all night since their parents were out of town and Finn slept like the dead.
While Caroline had been more than up for a drink or two, her mother sent her a message saying she was home and asked if she was planning on coming home soon too while not so subtly reminding her that they agreed she wouldn't be out too late, making Caroline wince as she looks at the time.
"Sorry guys, but I'm gonna have to take a raincheck," she says regretfully as they all walk out of the restaurant.
"What? Why?" Rebekah immediately demands at the same time some of the others chime in with their own inquiries.
"My mom just texted and she wants me home," she informs the group. "And I'm pretty sure if I don't show up in the next twenty minutes, she'll come looking for me and the last thing we want is for the town sheriff to bust us for drinking," she points out matter-of-factly.
Though she can tell her friends are less than pleased, and truthfully, she's disappointed too, she knows she can't risk staying out tonight and her friends know it too.
"I'll drive Caroline home then I'll meet you lot at home," Klaus says. "But I can't make this an all night thing either, I do have an early day tomorrow."
Caroline feels her stomach sink but doesn't say anything even as Kol grumbles something about him being a boring wanker.
"Thanks for driving me," she says after she bids goodbye to her friends and he drives them down the basically empty main road.
"Always my pleasure," he grins.
"Always so cheesy," she mutters back and smirks at the look he shoots her. "Eyes on the road!"
He rolls his eyes but she sees the corners of his lips tug up and they fall into a comfortable silence for a moment before he speaks again.
"You really did look beautiful up there tonight."
She fights back a smile (and a slight blush) as she looks out the window at the empty street.
"Thank you. I… I felt it. Beautiful, I mean. When I was up there, I've never felt more beautiful than I did right then. And it wasn't because of the make up or the dress or anything… it was … me," she confesses quietly, almost like a secret only to be shared with him. "I know that probably sounds weird and shallow and doesn't make any sense…"
He smiles at her and shakes his head.
"It makes perfect sense," he answers. "When I looked at you on that stage tonight, I wasn't looking at your makeup or any of those things you mentioned. I was just looking at you."
She feels a smile tug on her lips and he turns his attention back to the road.
"So you're all set for tomorrow then?" she tries to ask lightly, hating that pang in her chest that's been growing heavier as the night progressed and drew closer to a close.
She had tried telling herself at first that this would be just like all those other times him and his siblings would leave back to London every other summer vacation. This would just be like an extended vacation… a silly little lie she had never been able to believe but for some inexplicable reason tried to anyway.
She wonders if this is so hard because he's her first friend actually leaving or if it's because it's him.
"Just about. I just have to load the boxes into the car but I'll do that tonight and make Kol help me."
She nods, trying to think of what to say, absentmindedly fiddling with the ribbon tying the bouquet he'd brought her.
"Are you nervous at all about moving so far away from home and your family?" she wonders, looking at him curiously.
"Not nervous," he says. "I feel…ready. Ready to leave this town and some of the memories behind me."
She's fairly certain she knows which memories he'd rather forget and nods in understanding.
"I have a strange feeling I'll find myself missing my family and perhaps a few others from time to time," he says giving her a pointed a look before continuing, "Loathe as I am to admit it," he jokes with a wry smile and she feels a smile tug on her own lips. "But I can't stay here."
She's not surprised by his words. He'd told her once, a small town life was not something for him and the way he'd talked about the world out there, all there was to see…it made her wonder if a small town life would be enough for her too.
"Because there's a whole world out there waiting for you," she recalls his words from one night with a trace of a smile.
Great cities and art, and music. Genuine beauty…
Sometimes she envied how many places he had already visited while she had never really been anywhere.
He looks over at her and she can almost see the words in his expression.
Just like it's waiting for you.
He parks the car in front of her house and it feels like the car ride was far too short but she knows this is it. It's time to say goodbye.
"Well, thanks for the ride," she starts to say when she's surprised to see him unbuckle his seatbelt and start to open his door. "What are you doing?"
He simply smirks at her over his shoulder as he closes the door and walks around to her side of the car.
"I'm seeing you to your door," he answers amusedly as he opens the passenger door for her.
"Why?" she blurts out, watching as the amusement grows more pronounced on his face as he sighs and helps her out of the car.
"Does a person need a reason to be a perfect gentleman?" he quips, quickly continuing when he notices the look she gives him and sees her open her mouth to respond with some witty remark. "Will you just humor me and let me be a perfect gentleman?"
She laughs under breath but raises her hands innocently and allows him to escort her to her front door, a part of her more than a little touched by the gesture.
It's a nice little distraction for a few moments before they reach her front steps and reality hits her again.
"Well I guess this is it huh?" she tries to keep her voice light and even. "Have a safe trip…" she struggles finding the right words to say next so in true Caroline Forbes fashion, she starts to ramble. "And I know you hate it and think it's pointless, but New Orleans is huge and you never know how many creeps are out there, especially during Mardi Gras, like seriously you should see some of those news reports I found when doing my research on it, so anyway you should seriously consider using that pepper spray I got you."
She watches as his lips twitch, almost like he's fighting back a laugh.
"Don't worry, I've already packed it," he says and she knows it's mostly just to appease her but she nods a little in relief.
"My mom also says it's a good idea to always have your keys ready in your hand when you're walking alone to your car and it's late."
"I'll try to keep that in mind," he smirks, clearly amused by all her rambling.
She rolls her eyes but looks back at the person she's grown up and had countless adventures with, and feels that familiar knot form in her throat.
"And just, you know… While you're out there claiming the world or New Orleans or whatever… Just don't forget about us small town folk," she tries to joke, hating how her voice cracks at the same time tears form in her eyes without her permission and she has to look away, pretending to start fumbling through her bag for her keys.
She feels him nudge her shoulder lightly and turns to look up at him despite herself.
"You know this isn't goodbye don't you?" he asks with that trademark smirk still gracing his face but there's something almost gentle about his gaze. Something almost sad about it.
It makes her wonder if saying goodbye is as hard for him as it is for her.
"No matter where I go or how many cities I claim," he continues jokingly with a hint of those dimples but she sees the same look in his eyes. "Or no matter where you go or how many cities you conquer, no matter how many planes I have to jump on, or how many miles I have to drive or how long it takes-"
She sees him bring up his hand and for a second thinks he's going to cradle the side of her face and tells herself that's not disappointment when he tucks a loose strand of her hair behind her ear instead.
She meets his gaze again, fighting back the tears though she knows it's a losing battle.
He speaks his next words so quietly, she wonders if he even meant for her to hear them.
"I'll always find my way back to you."
She feels an involuntary and bright smile form on her face at his words and she doesn't know whether she should thank him (would that be weird?) but before she really gets the chance to mentally debate it, he's leaning in so quickly she barely has time to react.
She feels her heart thundering in her chest as she feels his lips press a feathery light kiss on her cheek -the first time he's kissed her- and her first thought is how soft his lips are. It makes her wonder how they would feel against her own.
He doesn't move away right away and she closes her eyes, relishing in the moment, his warmth, his scent.
She opens them again when he pulls back and meets his gaze as he gives her that devastating Klaus Mikaelson smile that's all dimples and makes her heart speed up. And maybe some would say that she's naive, she's heard the stories about people moving away and losing touch too, but she believes him.
Or maybe she needs to believe him because that's the only way she can let him go.
She closes the album and sets it back down in its place.
He's been on her mind a lot recently, especially after she got the call from Bonnie telling her that she and Kol were dating. She knew then that an encounter between her and Klaus was probable. Now… now it was inevitable.
But she tries not to think about that now and tries to think about rehearsals tomorrow and the moves she needs to focus on improving most as she finally lies down after her long day. Tries to think about the things she needs to do after rehearsals.
As she finally lies her head against that pillow, she tries to think about anything other than how maybe she still misses him. Tries not to wonder if maybe ironically enough, those very words he promised that night, the reason she could let him go then, perhaps are the very same reason she can't completely let him go now even if there have been times when she's desperately wanted to.
xxx
He brushes another careful stroke of color against the canvas, pausing with an irritated sigh when he hears the familiar sound of the front door slamming and high heels resounding against his newly polished floor before he sees an all too familiar blonde head.
"I just got off the phone with Kol," she says a means of greeting when she sees him.
"Hello little sister, please do let yourself into my home," he responds with a sarcastic smile.
She shoots him an equally sarcastic smile as she makes her way to his liquor cabinet.
"Is there even a point in me changing the locks?" he huffs exasperatedly as he watches her pick up one of his most expensive bottles of scotch.
"No," she smiles smugly as she pours herself a drink. "Anyway, like I was saying, Kol called. He's apparently starting up the celebrations early and wants us to arrive a few days earlier."
He snorts and picks up another brush.
"Yes, I got his message too. He's lucky I'm even going to the actual engagement party as it is," he says. "I'm not going to give him more opportunities to get one of us arrested or nearly killed like last time."
Indeed the imbecile had landed them all on the front page of every trashy tabloid in the country.
Rebekah just rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her drink.
"Would it really be a family reunion otherwise?" she smirks and he feels a smirk tug on his lips despite himself.
Still he says nothing else and keeps working on his painting though he feels her persistent and expectant stare on him.
"I'm not going to some bloody karaoke night," he grumbles finally, after it becomes impossible to focus on his work.
She gives him an almost smug look.
"Caroline will be there."
He hates that he gives her the reaction she's obviously looking for, but he can't help it. With those four words, he's suddenly frozen and a senior in high school again, being goaded into giving his sister a ride to the decade dance with these same words.
Still, he smirks and tries to pull off an indifferent expression, not wanting her to know how much her words still affect him so many years later.
Her smile grows, almost like she knows exactly what's going through his mind.
"But I'm sure with how many times you've spent sketching her over the last few years, that means nothing to you," she says with an overly sweet smile.
The smirk instantly falls off his face and he snarls at her as he feels a surge of anger that she's been looking through his private belongings.
"You had no right to go through my personal belongings," he growls. "If you ever go through them again-"
"I'm certain you'll find some way to torture me," she interrupts and downs the rest of her drink and sets down the empty glass, completely unfazed. "Suck it up and quit being a bloody wanker and change your flight so that the other bloody wanker will stop calling," she adds matter-of-factly. "Come on, Nik. One last hurrah. Before Kol ties the knot."
He glowers at her while he watches her leave, resisting the urge to break something.
He's furious that she would just go through his things, but what infuriates him even more is that she found his sketches of her. His secret no one was supposed to know about.
He throws the paintbrush back onto his table and stalks over to his liquor cabinet and pours himself a generous serving that he downs in almost one drink too.
As he feels the scotch burning down his throat, he glowers at the wall for a moment before he sets down the mostly empty glass and walks over to the cabinet by his window and opens one of the drawers. He picks up one of his sketchbooks and turns to the last sketch he did.
A sketch of her.
Caroline.
He did it on the day he read the headline from the Mystic Falls newspaper site.
Former Miss Mystic Falls Cast In Major New York Production
There had been an old picture of her underneath and he wondered how much she'd changed since that picture had been taken. He wondered if her hair was longer or if she had changed in any other ways.
He didn't know. And maybe it killed him just a little that he didn't.
Still, he'd drawn her how he remembered her. Or he'd tried to.
He'd drawn her in that beautiful dress she always envisioned herself in.
"That's going to be me one day."
He can't help the ghost of a smile that tugs on his lips at the memory and feels some of his irritation ebb away and soon he feels that familiar ache whenever he thinks about her.
He sets the sketchbook down and stares at it for a moment longer before the sound of his phone ringing snaps him out of his thoughts and he quickly pulls it out, almost like he's thankful for the interruption.
"Lucien? Were you able to schedule the meetings for next week?" he asks distractedly. "Excellent."
He listens to his assistant go on about other matters on his schedule and things he needs to attend to when his eyes fall on that sketch again.
"One more thing mate," he says as he closes his eyes and silently curses himself. "There's been a slight amendment to the plans next week. I need you to move up my flight."
As he gives Lucien the new details, he thinks of his sister's words.
One last hurrah.
He knows he may very well regret this but he tells himself that maybe this is what he needs.
He glances at her sketch one last time.
Maybe this what he needs to finally be able to move forward.
One way or another.
Thanks for reading! :) This was a drabble request from tumblr that was requested to be put on here. Because it has another part I decided to make this its own thing to be easier to find and read instead of posting it as part of my drabble series on here.