Title: The Christmas Holiday Exchange
Summary: Rebekah Mikaelson and Caroline Forbes may live worlds apart in different countries but they had two things in common. One: They were both hopeless romantics. Two: They were both extremely unlucky in love. What happens when they decide to swap homes for two weeks? Based on the Movie "The Holiday" KLAROLINE + STEBEKAH
Disclaimer/ Note from the author: Anyone that knows me well enough, would know that I love CONVERTING my favourite movies into stories. So over Christmas when I re-watched "The Holiday" a light bulb flicked on in my brain because this just SCREAMS Klaroline and Stebekah :)
I just want to put it out there that "Marcel" and "Matt" are going to be very OOC in my fic. I hope people will be able to deal with this and not get too upset. I didn't want to introduce new characters, so I figured to work the story around characters that we are already familiar with in TVD and TO.
This is an AU Story...so they are all human. Oh and Marcel is not adopted by the Mikaelsons in this fic.
Please Read and Review if you want me to continue :) Paris xox
Date Published: 30 December, 2014
© theboyfriend-and-theprettygirl, 2014
Chapter One: Home Exchange
-x-
Last Christmas I gave you my heart.
But the very next day, you gave it away.
This year, to save me the tears...
I'll give it to someone special.
-x-
Rebekah Mikaelson sighed heavily before pinning back a portion of her long blonde hair. There were about a million other places she would rather be right now, instead of being cooped up in her tiny little office working on files that didn't need to be done until well after the New Year. But being the one person working at Joesph and Gerard while everyone else was partying the night away in the bullpen, was the only way she was getting through this excruciating night.
Although she was working, her mind was a million miles away wondering what he was doing. He was the reason why she was not out there with the rest of her colleagues having a good time.
Rebekah reached for her iphone and put her Christmas playlist on shuffle. Maybe some carols would be the distraction she needed to get her mind of him.
Last Christmas I gave you my heart. But the very next day, you gave it away. This year, to save me the tears...I'll give it to someone special.
"You always loved this bloody song." his familiar voice said from the entrance of her doorway.
Rebekah closed her eyes for a split second, savouring the smell of his intoxicating cologne, before turning around to face him.
"And you always hated it." she said forcing a small smile. "What are you doing here, Marcel?"
"I should be asking you why you are not outside celebrating with the rest of us." he said folding his arms across his chest and leaning against her door frame.
"Oh. I have a tonne of work to do..." she lied, holding up a pile of folders. "I figured I should get a headstart-"
"But its Christmas Eve!"
"Actually, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Today is just the 23rd."
"Bilmey! I must be more sodding drunk than I realised!" Marcel exclaimed checking his watch quickly. "But seriously... come join the party Bex! You are the most work driven person at this firm, so there is no need for you to be working during our Christmas Party."
Rebekah sighed heavily. The main reason why she had been throwing herself into work in the first place was currently leaning against her door frame drunk off his face.
"I really should finish this case that I'm working on." she said, shuffling a few files around on her desk to appear busy.
"It wasn't a suggestion. Its an order. I'm practically your boss." he said poking out his tongue. "Come on Bex, have a drink with me. Please...one drink and I'll leave you be."
"Fine." she hissed, throwing her files down onto her desk. "I'll have one drink and then I'm coming back here to finish this case."
"Atta girl." he said beaming at her.
"Ooh, before I forget. I got you something." she said, opening her draw to pull out a neatly wrapped Christmas present.
"Rebekah, you shouldn't have...I didn't get you anything-"
"Don't worry about it. It's only something small." she said cutting him off quickly and handing him the gift.
"I'm such a tosser. I was going to buy you something, but I figured since the way things ended between us...that it might be awkward. I didn't know if it would be weird if I got you something..."
"Marcel...it's fine. Don't worry about it." she said faking a smile. "It's quite okay."
"Should I open it now?"
"Sure."
"Oh Bex! Where did you find it?" Marcel asked, looking up at her with beaming eyes before turning the book over in his hands. "It's a first addition...this must have cost you a fortune!"
"It was nothing." she lied, shrugging her shoulders quickly. "I knew how much it meant to you."
"I can't believe you remembered...where on earth did you find it? I've been searching for this most of my life!"
"It was buried in that little bookshop we found three years ago. The owner was certain he had a copy of it somewhere...so I kind of never stopped looking for it."
"Bex, it must've taken forever to find it." Marcel said softly. "Why are you so good to me?"
Rebekah bit her lip to stop herself from smiling and avoided his beautiful eyes, as an awkward silence fell over them.
"What on earth are you two doing in here?" Sophie, the office party girl asked, breaking the awkward silence and spilling some of her wine in Rebekah's office. "Sod it! Sorry about that Rebekah. Have the cleaners gone home for the night or do you want me to clean that up?"
"It's okay, Sophie I can do it." Rebekah said forcing a smile. "Raincheck on that drink, Marcel? I just want to make sure this doesn't stain the carpet."
Marcel nodded. "But if you are not out there in five minutes, I'm dragging you out to the party myself. Come, Sophie let's get you back to the others before you ruin anymore of Rebekah's carpet."
And like that, the love of her life was gone and out of her sight again. Rebekah reached for the bottle of carpet cleaner and an old rag from her cleaning closet and started to work on the red stain.
-x-
"What are you doing?" Matt Donovan asked, walking into the bedroom he shared with his girlfriend Caroline Forbes.
"Packing up your shit, Matt. What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked sarcastically, before shoving some more of his clothes inside his suitcase furiously.
"Caroline, babe. This is ridiculous...I didn't sleep with her. You need to let it go."
"Let it go?" she scoffed angrily. "You came home at three in the morning, drunk off your face...and you told me that you had sex with your secretary! So no Matt, I will not let it go. I want you out of my fucking house."
"Babe, can you just stop. Please...can we talk about this like civilized adults?"
"What's there to talk about? Once a cheater..."
"I didn't cheat!"
"That's not what you were confessing to me this morning when you were trying to clear your conscience." she said rolling her eyes. "I can't believe I bought your lies all these years! 'There's nothing going on between us, Care. We are just friends. She has a boyfriend.' You were fucking her for two years! Jesus, I am so stupid! She must have thought I was the biggest idiot on the planet, right?"
"Care..." Matt said, reaching out for her arm.
"Don't touch me." she snapped, stepping back quickly. "Don't ever touch me again."
"What can I do to make things right?"
"That's the thing, Matt. You can't make things right. You cheated. You broke my heart. You broke my trust." she said as the tears burned at her eyes. "You want to do something useful? Pack up your shit and get the hell out of my house."
-x-
By the time Rebekah had cleaned the wine stain from her carpet and reluctantly joined the party outside, the music had stopped and her co-workers were huddled together in the bullpen. Her eyes quickly searched through the big crowd for Marcel. But he was nowhere in sight.
"What's going on? Why isn't anyone dancing anymore?" she whispered to her friend Davina.
"Mr Gerard cut the music. He said that he had something big to announce." her friend whispered back.
Rebekah accepted a glass of champagne that the waiters were starting to hand out and patiently waited for the big announcement. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, she watched as her boss ascended the tinsel covered stairs and greeted his workers.
"Colleagues and friends...it is with great pleasure that I am honoured to announce the engagement of my son Marcel Gerard to his lovely girlfriend Camille O'Connor. May we now raise our glasses in a toast and wish them a very happy and prosperous life together. To Marcel and Cami!"
People clapped, cheered and toasted in unison as Marcel and Cami joined Mr Gerard on the stairs smiling happily from ear to ear. Rebekah dropped her champagne glass through her fingers and a few of her colleagues in front of her turned to look at her as if she was a sympathy case.
"Are you okay?" Davina whispered to her when she had bent down to pick up the pieces.
"I'll be fine. I just got to get this...before someone steps...on the glass.." she choked out as her throat started to constrict painfully and her vision became blurry from the tears that were now burning her eyes.
Davina bent down beside her friend to help her. "I mean about this news...it must be hard, Bekah."
"I'm be fine." she lied, cutting herself on some sharp glass. "Sod it."
"Leave this for the waiters. Come...let's clean up your hand." Davina said pulling her out of the packed room.
They headed towards the empty kitchen and Rebekah took a seat as Davina pulled out the first aid kit.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"I don't mind if you need to rant." she said, pulling opening an alcoholic swab and cleaning the cut.
"I'm fine." Rebekah lied, fighting back the tears.
"He's an ass...for the record." her friend said, disposing of the swab in the bin quickly, before wrapping a band aid around the cut.
"Thank you."
"Pleasure. Do you want me to spill my wine on him? I can make it look like a drunken mistake...he would never know." Davina said nudging her friend playfully.
Rebekah laughed loudly and shook her head quickly. "No. He's not worth the wine that you will be wasting. He is an ass! He lead me on for years...only to break my heart in the end. He's a tosser. My brother was right all along...he never loved me."
"Davina...do you mind if I have a word with Rebekah alone in private?" Marcel asked walking into the kitchen.
"Whatever you need to say to me, you can say in front of her." Rebekah snapped quickly.
"Rebekah...I would rather do this privately..." he begged softly.
"I'll be right outside." Davina said, when an awkward silence had filled the room.
"Congratulations." Rebekah said sarcastically. "I would toast you but I dropped my glass of champagne."
"I saw." he said solemnly.
Great. She thought angrily. Had the whole room seen her pathetic reaction to his happy news?
"I don't even know where to begin..." he said trailing off suddenly. "Forgive me..."
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You could start by telling my why you didn't tell me that you had proposed to Cami? I mean..we only dated for three years and were forced to work with each other every damn day...didn't I deserve a bit of a head's up? Or did I mean absolutely nothing to you?"
"Of course not." he said quickly. "Bex, you must know how difficult this was for me. I wanted to tell you...I tried to tell you so many times but everytime I would walk up to you...or I'd see you smile at me... I'd lose my nerve."
"Jesus, Marcel! It was the decent thing to do!" she said pulling at her face with her hands. "Why didn't you tell me earlier... when you came into my office?"
"I wanted to tell you over a drink...so you would be more relaxed. But then Sophie spilt her wine and by the time you came to the party my father beat me to it."
"How long have you been engaged?"
"Rebekah...we don't need to do this.." he said softly.
"You said that you tried several times so...how long?"
"About a month."
"A month?" she repeated in disbelief, as her heart ached suddenly.
"We kept it quiet. I told Cami that I wanted you to hear the news from me, before it was made public."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner then?"
"I wanted to...but I was afraid of how you would take the news."
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You must've thought I would start taking people hostage or something..."
"No.. of course not. Rebekah, I couldn't bring myself to tell the news because..." he said sighing heavily. "Because I didn't want to break your heart."
"Well congratulations because you did." she said hopping off the barstool and heading towards the kitchen's exit, before he grabbed her hand to stop her quickly.
"I'm sorry, Bex. I never meant to hurt you." he said painfully. "But we broke up a year ago and I moved on...did you want me to be single forever?"
But before she could reply, he had dropped her hand quickly. Davina had run into the kitchen followed by a very angry Cami.
"Darling, I was just checking to make sure that she was okay.." he said to Cami. "She cut her hand pretty badly and I remembered how queasy she got around blood."
"Your father wants us to cut the cake." she said, without looking at Rebekah.
"I'm glad your hand is okay." Marcel said lying quickly, before following his fiance outside to rejoin the rest of the party.
-x-
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Matt asked, a hand on his suitcase as he stood at the entrance to their Mansion.
"Why are you still here?" Caroline asked rolling her eyes.
"Care...don't do this." he begged softly. "Please talk to me..."
"Did you sleep with her?"
"What?"
"Did. You. Sleep. With. Her?" Caroline spelled out the words slowly for emphasis.
"Babe-"
"Just tell me the truth, Matt. You owe me that much."
Matt sighed heavily. "Fine. I did. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"I knew it."
"Caroline, I made a mistake...can't we please talk about this? I don't love her..I lo-"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT YOU LOVE ME." she yelled angrily,cutting him off mid-sentence and making him jump a little. "If you loved me...you wouldn't have cheated."
"Care...can you just let me explain?"
"No. Please leave."
"Caroline..."
"Goodbye Matt." she said coldly, ignoring his pleas.
"Fine. I'll go. But this...is not all my fault." he said wheeling his suitcase down the porch steps.
"Sure its not." she retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes quickly.
"Whether you believe this or not...that's up to you. But you ran our relationship into the ground the moment you put your work first."
"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you cheated because I worked too much?" Caroline asked folding her hands over her chest.
"Yes...well that and because I can't remember the last time we actually had any sex!"
"You're a loser."
"You're just mad because you know I'm right." he hit back quickly. "This is your fault, as much as it is mine sweetheart. Anytime you cool down and you want to talk things through...or get back together, I'll be here."
"Ugh. It's over. Don't come here again." she said before slamming the door loudly.
This is your fault, as much as it is mine sweetheart. Caroline replayed the conversation over in her head, as she started to pace around in her house. Her fault! She couldn't it! He had some nerve to be blaming her when he was the Goddamn CHEATER!
She stopped pacing. She so was sick of thinking about Matt. She had barely gotten a wink of sleep since his betraying confession. She was sick of listening to his excuses play over and over in her head.
She needed to do something different. She needed a change.
She was not going to spend Christmas at home, moping around the place that she shared with the man she had loved. She was not going to be haunted with memories of happier times they has shared together before he had cheated.
She was going to get away for a week or two to clear her head. A holiday would do her just fine. But where to go?
-x-
Rebekah could not for the life of her remember a time when she had not cried herself all the way home because of Marcel Gerard. This night like every other before it had actually started the same way, before something clicked in her brain. She had spent the last year moping and pining for a guy that had wasted the last six years of her life. Six years that she would NEVER get back.
Six years wasted on a guy who had flirted and lead her on for two years before dating her, breaking her heart- because he suddenly realized that he had wanted something else- then leading her on for another year after he had started a new relationship.
Davina had been so right. He was such an ass.
Rebekah poured herself a fresh jug of tea and sat in front of her laptop. She needed to get away from London. She couldn't deal with being in the same country as Marcel a second longer. She hated the way he made her feel. She hated that he had moved on so effortlessly after their break up while she was left pining for the man that had been everything she had wanted. She hated the way that he would call her anytime he had a fight with Cami and compare his relationship to what he used to have with her. She hated that he continued to lead her on right up to his bloody engagement.. But most of all, she hated how he had made her such a bloody fool!
As she searched places in the world to visit to get away, she vowed to herself that tonight would be the last time she ever cried herself to sleep over Marcel Gerard again!
-x-
Caroline strummed her fingers onto her keyboard. Where in the world could she go for a holiday for one, without being laughed at or judged?
Bora Bora looked lovely. Maybe she could rent one of the bungalows that the Kardashians stayed at?
Who was she kidding? Bora Bora screamed couples retreat. She would definitely be judged if she stayed as a single there...
Australia seemed nice...but then she remembered reading something about them having seven out of eight of the world's deadliest creatures. There was no way in hell that she would be visiting that country ALONE anytime soon.
Countries where people didn't speak English were also ruled out. She wasn't in the mood to be translating her sentences poorly from a language pocket book.
Then it dawned on her. England would be the perfect place for her to visit. She had always wanted to visit London anyways! Spending a fortnight in London and the countryside had always been a dream of hers since she had discovered Jane Austen's books. Work had always kept from travelling outside of the US. But not this time. Her company was doing well. She was her own boss, which definitely was an advantage for planning spontaneous holidays. This was actually the first time that she didn't have Matt to consider- his idea of the perfect holiday was hitting the Las Vegas Strip- he would've never been up to spending time by the countryside or going vintage book shopping.
Caroline opened up Google and typed: places to visit in England into the search engine. The first result immediately caught her attention: HOME EXCHANGE. She could do that! She imagined it would be a nicer, more authentic experience than staying in some overrated poshy hotel. Yes, a small little Cottage in the countryside would do her just perfectly!
She quickly clicked on the link and selected England. The next step was to find a town to stay at. Something in the countryside but not too far out from the City. She thought as she clicked through the images of Cottages that matched that description. After what seemed like an hour of skipping through cottages and debating where or not she was actually insane and should spend Christmas in LA, she finally found the one. It was the perfect looking cottage. Small and quaint, with a well kept garden and picket white fence around it. Hidden in the quiet countryside, but not too far from the city by car.
Caroline sent an email to the owner.
-x-
Rebekah's computer made a loud noise, alerting her of an instant message.
C_Forbes: I'm interested in renting your house.
Rebekah frowned a little confused. She could've sworn that she had taken her Cottage off that Home Exchange website after she had broken up with Marcel. The only reason why she had even put her Cottage up in the first place was because he was always into trying new things.
C_Forbes: Hello...Are you there? I'm wondering if your Cottage is available during Christmas - New Year because if it is you would be a real life saver!
Rebekah bit down on her lip. Was this a sign? She had wanted to escape England for awhile. She was just searching for the perfect holiday destination but had no idea where to go. In the worse case scenario if she didn't like where the person lived, she could always say no.
Rebekah_M: I am very interested but the cottage is only really available for home exchange. We switch houses, cars, everything. I haven't done it before but some of my friends have. Where are you?
Please be somewhere nice! Rebekah prayed silently.
C_Forbes: L.A.
Rebekah almost screamed. She had always wanted to visit America.
Rebekah_M: I've never been there, but I've always wanted to go! I'm Rebekah, by the way. Neat freak. Book worm. Non-smoker. Single.
C_Forbes: I'm Caroline. Work-o-holic. Movie enthusiast. Single. Nice to meet you. Your Cottage looks very lovely. I think it will do perfectly!
Rebekah_M: Thank you. What does your place look like?
C_Forbes: My place is nice...but sort of bigger than yours.
Rebekah_M: Perfect!
C_Forbes: So when can I come?
Rebekah_M: Is tomorrow too soon? I really don't want to be in England at the moment...I'm trying to get over someone.
C_Forbes: Tomorrow is perfect! Don't worry...I just broke up with my boyfriend of 5 years so I know the feeling ;) There are no men in your town right? I just want some 'me' time. I'm not really in the mood to be hit on at the moment.
Rebekah_M: Honestly...Where I live there's ZERO. I don't have any neighbours within walking distance.
C_Forbes: PERFECT :)
Rebekah_M: So its settled then. Two weeks from tomorrow :) I'm going to book my ticket now. I'll leave the keys for you in a pot plant.
C_Forbes: Awesome! I'll leave my keys with my next door neighbour.
Rebekah_M: I'm going to send you an email on how to get to my place from the airport.
C_Forbes: Excellent! Smart idea. I will do the same.
Rebekah_M: I can't believe we are actually doing this! I am so excited!
C_Forbes: Me too!
Rebekah smiled. This time tomorrow she would be in L.A. She couldn't believe it! She had so much to do...so much to pack. Despite it being almost midnight, the adrenaline- or was it excitement?-had kicked in and she was filled with a bout of energy.
That night she did not cry herself to sleep over Marcel Gerard.
-xx-
Author's Note:
I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I had a lot of material that I needed to cover to set the story up for later. I was actually going to make the girls meet the boys in this chapter too, but then I realised that the chapter was super long and I didn't want to rush their meetings- so I cut out. Depending on the reviews and how busy I am, I will hopefully post chapter two sometime tomorrow since its halfway done. I'm so excited for the next chapter because Klaroline and Stebekah are going to meet :)
Again, I am sorry for the OOC Matt and Marcel- but as I said earlier, I wanted to use characters that we are already familiar with and since this fic is an AU - I figured I could get away with it.
I hope you guys enjoy this story or at least stick with it for another chapter or so...because I know the second chapter will be a million times more interesting ;) I have big plans for this fic. I plan on making it slightly different from the movie too.
Sorry in advance for any errors...its after 2am here and I proof read it quickly with a tired pair of eyes. I will re-read it tomorrow and fix up any mistakes that I find. Also, I couldn't decide on a title for this fic so that might change tomorrow haha
Anyways, enough of my rambling...please leave me a review? It will encourage me to update faster and I would love you forever :p
Paris xox