"Try to be nice…" Bonnie asked her best friend as they stepped out of the car.
Caroline pushed her big sunglasses down her nose and gave the other one a really annoyed look. "They don't pay me to be nice."
Bonnie came around the car and sweetly hooked her arm with Caroline's. "I know that you're this really famous art critic and that your honest opinions are highly considered in the art circle but this a good friend of mine trying to make a living..."
"Sounds promising already." Caroline interrupted Bonnie annoyed.
"Try to be nice to him. I mean…" Bonnie knocked on the only blue door of the street. "You do have the power to make or destroy a career just by writing a good or bad review on your blog."
Caroline rolled her eyes putting away the expensive glasses, she shook her flawless blond curls with her hand and attempted a sweet smile that Bonnie knew was all sorts of fake.
Caroline was a cold bitch with an amazing eye for the art and she never said she liked anything just to please others.
A really attractive blond guy opened the door for them and Caroline tried remembering when was the last time she saw the Salvatore brothers, she was certain to have met them on some party but she couldn't remember when which was a sin because the guy was really hot and she could see the muscles under his shirt.
Slowly she looked at Bonnie with a naughty smile.
Bonnie returned the smirk, she had nice friends and by nice she meant friends with big arms and perfect hair.
"I'm so flattered and nervous at the same time that you're actually doing this…" Stefan invited them inside of the loft.
Caroline looked around, it was obviously the house of an artist, there were canvas scattered everywhere, just like oil, paints, brushes and cloths.
The space didn't have much color but she could spot a few art sculptures ornamenting the big space, this was the part that she liked the best, getting to know the soul of an artist.
Unfortunately a lot of them tried to convinced her that they were the next Goya or Van Gogh and that's when everything went cold for her, she hated smug artists.
Stefan led her to the paintings that he surely believed to be master pieces but after the first two she was already yawning with boredom, his work was ok but there was only one way to spell average and she intended to classify his work precisely as that.
He was explaining his third choice thoroughly… poor guy, someone should tell him that a good artist doesn't explain his work, it should speak for itself.
"Do you have wine?" Caroline interrupted his detailed explanation about his saturation of colors. "I can tell maroon from raspberry Stefan." She couldn't hold back the mean comment and Bonnie glared at her.
"I don't really live here… the house belongs to my girlfriend's brother so I don't know where the drinks are. He should be back soon though, I asked for an hour so that I could show you my best pieces."
The words made Caroline cringe. "Look Stef… I like you. You're really hot and you have a good hand, the lines are beautiful but there is no emotion at all." She came closer to one of his paintings and moved her hand in circles. "I don't feel anything when I look at this and I'm expected to at least pretend a horrified expression when I see a woman covered in blood and screaming at her severed hand…" she stopped to look at Stefan. "Keep painting as a hobby... but don't take it too seriously."
He was heartbroken and looked down on the floor.
Caroline knew that Bonnie was scolding her but she was only being honest.
Stefan's phone began to ring and he grimaced seeing the name of his brother on the screen, surely Damon was expecting better news than the ones he had for him. "I need to take this…" he went out to the street for privacy.
Caroline stopped Bonnie even before she started. "It would be a lot crueler if a gallery took his money to host an exhibition, the entire industry would desiccate his work like an open frog on a table. You think that I'm mean with my little blog? You should fear the big sharks in this town, they will tear him apart.
Without a word Bonnie went outside to comfort her friend.
Caroline sighed and moved a few of the paintings lying on the table, perhaps this wasn't really his best work and she tried seeing those that he didn't find good enough to show her.
It wasn't a surprise that she found one good painting under all the average ones so she looked around, he probably kept a few more from her and Caroline skimmed through the place hopeful.
Caroline took a better look around the studio, there was a big bed that had a few clothes on it and by the way the light was coming in from the window she could tell that this was a studio where someone spent most of their time.
She also caught the white sheet covering a series of paintings strategically hidden from those who only took a quick look around the studio, she glanced at the open door, Bonnie and Stefan were still outside and she gently bit her lip taken by curiosity.
The loft was somewhat dark and melancholic if she excluded the light coming from the big window, there weren't any personal displays like pictures so she guessed instantly that the owner was a loner.
As she gave more attention to it, she became increasingly intrigued by the artist that used a lot of black in his work judging by the amount of stained cloths that he left in the back wall of the loft.
Obviously he was hiding his work because of her visit for Stefan's sake which only further triggered Caroline to remove the sheet away, usually artists casually left their paintings in plain sight for her to see them so she almost expected a mix of juvenile rebellion with the insecurity of a young mind but she was in for a shocker.
Caroline's hands gripped the sheet in her hand, the first paintings she saw were magnificent, they were full of depth and although very dark they showed a carefully planned story behind them.
She came closer to the exquisite art, he was very intense and even the one with the landscape was like glancing back from the car when someone leaves home for the first time aware that they will never return to that dreadful small town ever again.
Her blue eyes started to really sparkle with the detailed capitation of a woman, she was so sad that Caroline felt a lump in her throat, she wanted to know why the girl was looking at her with such sad eyes but Caroline knew enough about art to know that the girl was merely a reflection of how the artist saw himself.
It was a big stack of paintings but she analyzed all of them until she reached the huge ones in the back, there weren't any other portraits but she was particularly taken by a huge canvas that was all covered in black heavy brushes, he was deeply troubled so Caroline assumed.
"I don't remember leaving my work on prying sight…"
A very accented deep voice spoke next to her and it startled Caroline but she was not expecting what she found either, somehow she had imagined that he would be a teenager with long hair, black nails and heavily dressed all in black.
She was definitely not expecting the tall dirty-blond haired man with blazing blue eyes and perfect unshaven features, the scruff couldn't have more than four days and it looked perfect on him.
Caroline wandered her eyes a bit, he was wearing a long-sleeved black cotton Henley shirt and she could see a lot of necklaces around his neck, well, at least she got the dark look right and she forced herself to snap out of her drooling moment. "I'm sorry. I was… intrigued." She pressed her lips together. "This looks really bad..." she forced a smile.
"I was not expecting the harsh examination of my work, but thank you for the kind compliment." he answered serious.
"No!" She winced. "I wasn't talking about your work. I love what I've seen so far." She smiled pushing her gentle wall of curls behind her ear realizing however that he wasn't truly serious.
His smile was easy and she faltered a bit because he was looking straight into her eyes, Caroline wasn't used to that, men usually felt somewhat threatened by her raw beauty and she wasn't particularly warm so that detachment sometimes came across as being conceited which pushed men away instantly.
Still the one standing in front of her only showed her a confidence and a smile that she couldn't stop staring at.
"So my work isn't atrocious after all?" he asked lowering his chin a bit.
She gulped down with the way his eyes seemed to pierce through her. "I really love the black one..." she cleared her throat because her voice came out somewhat affected.
"I was feeling quite cheerful the day I painted it."
Caroline crumbled into a silly laughter, she looked away from him horrified that he was making her act like a brainless girl within minutes of knowing him. "It's very personal and intense... from what I've seen you are one of those who leave everything on a canvas."
"There's not much of a soul left." he simply said and moved to organize his paintings as he had left them.
The comment made her look at him, she lingered on his broad back. "I could disagree but I don't want to come across as a know it all."
He chuckled without facing her. "You see what I want you to see."
"You are not that good." she pursed her lips.
He looked back at her with a bastard smile. "When I paint, I have control. The brush does what I want and what is left for others to see is what I see fit to share." he said smugly.
Caroline raised her eyebrow. "10 minutes looking at that and I can tell how deeply conflicted you are and you may believe that you have all the control in the world but you are not fooling me a bit. All of your demons are breaking their way through in every single line that you make on a blank canvas."
He lost the smile and Caroline recoiled to her corner but she still kept her defiant stare.
"If you're going to expose my work and my soul like that I would love a name to go with the bold attitude, sweetheart."
"Caroline Forbes." she quickly reached out her hand to him.
He took it making her hand disappear inside of his. "Niklaus Mikaelson."
Caroline reacted a bit under the strong and powerful grip, the ancient name was filled with mystery and suddenly she felt the unexplained will to know more about him. "I didn't want to upset you but I know a thing or two about art..."
"I'm not upset... I'm intrigued." his lips curved into a teasing smile.
Caroline handed him back the sheet so that he could cover his work. "So you're the funny artist."
He covered the paintings carefully and she caught a glimpse of his bare back as the shirt lifted, Caroline licked her lips happy with the view.
"Actually, I've been told that I'm very dark and gloomy." he said facing her.
She chuckled. "I would never assume that from the lack of light and color around here. Unless you're going for the murky type only to attract girls."
"It's an evil plan on the makings..." he smiled amused with the girl and her sharp tongue.
"How's that working out for you?" she asked him in that straight forward way of hers.
"I can't complain but oddly enough women don't find my routine of waking up in the middle of the night to paint very appealing." he said with a smile.
"It's not easy to understand an artist..." she said in a low voice because she found him fascinating, he was witty and his hotness oozed out in every word spoken with his lilt accent.
"We can't help how inspiration seems to find us in the most unexpected and unpredictable ways."
There was a smile that was shared by both and a subtle flirt with their eyes, when she slightly lowered them he kept his on her face and then when she lifted her gaze slowly to meet his he was the one slowly looking down.
It was like making love with their eyes, hot bothered and slow and Caroline felt a very strange heat that she was forced to shut down instantly. "Why haven't I seen your work exhibited yet?"
"Because I'm missing one painting to complete my collection."
Caroline narrowed her eyes.
He smiled relishing in the rather faultless features in front of him. "I'm missing a nude painting but I haven't found the right model to pose for it."
She released a nervous laughter. "That's the worst pickup line ever."
He licked his lips with only a hint of a smile this time. "I'm quite serious actually... I'd love to paint you."
"You want to paint me butt naked?" she asked louder than she intended and with a terrible panic shade to her voice.
He leaned his head to the side and bluntly checked the curvy body inside of the classic dress. "It would be an honor to do so, Miss Forbes."
"I saw a dashing blonde among your work, why haven't you painted her?"
He liked her direct approach a lot. "She is my sister so that would be highly disturbing for both of us."
Caroline awkwardly touched her hair. "I've known a few kinky artists... trust me." She widened her eyes.
"I'm as innocent as they come." he touched his chest serious.
She gave him a side look. "You've just met me and already you want to undress me."
"It doesn't happen often but sometimes an artist finds just the perfect muse in the perfect moment and the perfect painting is born."
His voice was alluring and the words were just smooth, rolling out of his raspberry lips. "This just got surreal..." she touched the back of her neck that was beginning to show her sweaty jittery.
"I'm sure that I'm not the first one with such a request, you are a very beautiful woman after all."
She struggled to get her steel confidence back, it seemed as if it was lying at his feet right now. "This is that wonderful moment when I shamelessly lie and say that I get asked to pose nude every single day."
He laughed richly. "I promise that I will be very professional about it. I'll make sure that you are comfortable and I'll stop whenever you want me to."
Caroline's mind drifted to images of her lying in bed naked while he drew her and then everything went on short-circuit as the set of images quickly changed to kissing and having crazy filthy sex with him right on the bed behind them. "Can I think about it?" she licked her very dry lips.
"Why don't you think about it over dinner?"
"You are like some twisted man who paints women and then kills them, aren't you? " she blabbered out.
He burst into a louder laughter that shook his sturdy body.
That's when she became aware that she was in trouble because she couldn't take her eyes away from him.
"The only woman I have ever painted was my sister, as you saw before, and I assure you that she's very much alive."
He really seemed determined and she couldn't deny how much she found his confidence tempting. "Ok... but only dinner." she said with a racing heart and a smile that became seductive. "And don't expect to see me naked on our first date." She fiercely pointed her index at him. "I'm not that easy Niklaus."
An irresistible set of dimples appeared on his cheeks. "I never assumed that you were. And please love, call me Nik, if I am to see you naked we should get the formalities out of the way."
Caroline could feel her heart pounding in her ears, this was not planned and she wasn't really the spontaneous type but she was only agreeing to dinner so far.
"Care?" Bonnie asked from the door.
Suddenly she remembered that she wasn't alone and that there was a world that existed apart from the perfect crazy moment that they just shared. "I'm going Bonnie." she said without looking at her friend and reached inside of her pocket, she took a business card handing it to him. "Text me with the restaurant that you choose... I might show up, Nik." she smiled before turning away to leave.
He looked down on the little pink card and then at the stunning woman walking away, she looked back once and their eyes met in a powerful silent mutual attraction.
Nik took the card and placed it on an empty linen canvas, he knowingly prepared his paints and began with the blue eyes, they were full of joy and life and he wanted to capture them in full detail.
"New panting?" Stefan slumped on his friend's bed miserable with the way that the cold blonde just crashed his dreams, he knew that he would never be as good as Nik was but still, he wasn't expecting the earlier merciless blow.
"I find myself inspired on a vigorous spur." Nik said starting on the full red lips that were as perfect as he had ever seen.
Stefan faced the ceiling with a gloomy spirit. "Are you painting my girlfriend again?"
"No..." Nik stepped away already pleased with what he had so far, he soaked a brush in golden-yellow and started working on her beautiful hair. "My muse." he answered with a big smile.
Soundtrack:
Bullet Train - Stephen Swartz (feat. Joni Fatora)