how strange love is — in the way it can both shatter and mend people, yet still be praised. / an AU set during the end of season three. / for nala, in coppertone wars' christmas exchange.
for:
—Nalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala aka Nala aka Nuclears. happy belated birthday!
—Coppertone Wars' Christmas Fic Exchange.
prompts: pickup trucks, high heels, glitter, lipstick-stained wine glasses
pairing: Klaus & Caroline.
a/n: I hope you like this, Nala :) this is my first fic for Vampire Diaries so I'm not sure if it will fit in with the others, haha. also, the title is taken from a Joy Division song by the same name. as well, I'm sorry that this is extremely rushed. my one free day that i was going to spend writing was filled last minute by christmas chores thanks to my dear mother. so yeah; and now i'm going on a rant, sorry, haha.
y'all should go listen to the song Riptide by Vance Joy, I've been listening to it on repeat for days.
disclaimer: unfortunately, I don't own Vampire Diaries and even more unfortunately I don't own Klaus (or any other characters, companies, or brands mentioned).
shadowplay
;
"What a frightening thing is the human, a mass of
gauges and dials and registers, and we can read
only a few and those perhaps not accurately."
—John Steinback
;
It reminded her of a game of freeze tag which she had played when she was young, in the way he always seemed to find her despite nothing and everything; and the worst of all, how she couldn't seem to escape after being caught.
In Caroline Forbes' eyes, everything was a game to Klaus Mikaelson.
;
Thinking of things like a human always seemed a bit silly—even when Caroline was still a human. Human was average. Average was boring. And boring was unlikable, which, of course, wasn't a possibility for her. And so when she found herself distressed about something as minor as relationship issues, she, of course, was just as puzzled as anyone passing by might be.
The forest grass was damp and slightly askew, causing the blonde girl to resist the urge to sputter it out of her mouth; the sky as palely toned as any other during dawn. Caroline lay face down amidst the middle of the woods, refusing to think about anything. The scene most likely looked insane, but she didn't find the right mind to care, which was odd considering her nature. But no matter how much she told herself that she wouldn't think about being judged, she did know that if anyone saw her, she would unfortunately freak.
"May I ask why you're lying down in the center of a forest, love?"
Caroline jumped in surprise at the sudden voice, in the best way she could while lying down, and hopped to a stand impulsively while swiveling to face the newcomer self-consciously with her hands glued to her sides. Once noticing the familiar brown sugar shaded hair and shady eyes that seemed to be full of hatred and admiration at the same time, she felt a blush creep up her cheeks just the same.
"Oh . . ." she trailed, eyes flickering to the corner as she searched for an excuse. She finally muttered, quite lamely, "It smells nice."
"It . . smells nice?" Klaus cracked a grin. "And how does it smell?"
Caroline focused her sights on a stray twig behind him as a distraction before blurting out, "Like Christmas, because it's December 24th and we're surrounded by pine trees."
"That reminds me—it's Christmas," he started, striding a few steps towards her which caused the blonde to impulsively back up a foot as well. "So why are you acting sad?"
She was torn between being frightened or being friendly, each with its consequences but each also with its positive outcomes. Frightened would result in him possibly leaving, but she wasn't exactly sure if that's what she wanted, not forgetting the fact that fear is weak; friendly would result in giving him the wrong idea. Caroline was well aware that Klaus was practically in love with her, but still confused about Tyler. She never thought that she would ever be forced to make a choice between the supposed bad guy, or guy who was a dick even when he was trying not to be. They were complete opposite, in a way.
"I'm acting sad because I am sad," Caroline finally responded, shrugging her shoulders and avoiding his eyes that she could never get out of once in.
She pursed her plump lips nervously once there was a pause from Klaus' side of the conversation, but he soon exclaimed, "I have a solution: run away with me."
The idea was so spontaneous that the blonde girl couldn't help but let out a laugh, "Excuse me, I'm not sure if I heard you right. Run away with you?" she arched an eyebrow incredulously towards him. "And why would I do that?"
"Because at the moment, I'm the only one who knows you need to be happier, and I intend to fix that," he stated before repeating completely seriously, "So run away with me."
The fact that it was an idea patented by Klaus Mikaelson basically made it certain that Caroline shouldn't follow anything he ever says, ever. And the fact that running away meant leaving behind her friends, family, her so called boyfriend—even the thought of that, no matter how positive it was, proved that the idea wasn't a good one.
You can imagine that when she blurted out, "Yes," she herself was surprised as well.
;
From the term 'running away', Caroline had pictured the two driving towards the city in his expensive car, her sipping out of a wine glass stained with lipstick; her venting, him listening.
Not hitchhiking.
Klaus had led her to the side of a highway, only a stray car passing by every few minutes. His thumb was sticking out, cursing under his breath everytime they were dismissed by a vehicle, while Caroline stood behind him; she pulled her cardigan tighter around her, gritting her teeth at his redneck-like decision.
It took fifteen minutes for him to find them a ride, Caroline still with no clue why he was bothering and why he was bothering in that way. A red rusted pick-up truck parked in front of them, and Klaus was forced to drag the blonde girl into the front seat, where the [now] three passengers now squished.
Stuck in between two men, Caroline winced at the driver's seat to her left. He was bald, but his dark hair was still there—styled in a course, tangled beard that reached his chest, with no mustache. She could smell his sweat, as she was just about half of a foot from his armpits, and he was portly at that. She glanced to Klaus on her right for help, but he seemed to be perfectly content with the idea of sitting in a stranger's car. It wasn't like they were screwed if he was a kidnapper, though; Caroline sometimes forgot that they had supernatural powers.
"Where are you headed?" the man asked, his voice just as gravelly as she imagined it would be.
"Drop us off about twenty miles out of town," Klaus replied, peeking and grinning at her from the corner of his mouth. She silently asked why the hell he was bringing her to an isolated location off the road, but he just smiled wider in return.
She scowled.
;
To Caroline's surprise, her and Klaus actually didn't end up being kidnapped, or murdered, or raped; they were instead dropped off about twenty miles out of town, as asked. She stumbled out of the pick-up truck while her companion slapped a twenty dollar bill into the man's palm, who sped off immediately after.
She huffed once they were out of earshot, "Care to tell me why you're bringing me out in the middle of nowhere?" she rolled her eyes before assuming, despite knowing his admiration for her, "You're probably planning murder, aren't you? Well I'll tell you this: I'm a vampire too, and just because you were one of the first vampires ever doesn't mean I can't take y—"
Her ramble was cut off by lips.
Caroline gasped slightly against them, but hers locked back with his instantaneously. He had her lower lip trapped between his, leaving a lingering taste of mint against hers and his thumb grazing her jawline. Feeling her cheeks grow warm, she raised eyebrows at herself for kissing back but instead kept doing it, pulling away gently after a few moments.
She was silent while Klaus glanced at the mossy road sheepishly. Not a word was spoken for about a minute, just Caroline staring at Klaus and him staring at the ground before he glanced up, grabbed her hand, and turned to lead her wherever he was supposed to be leading her.
They found themselves in a cave of sorts constructed of tree branches, arranged in a teepee tent form. She was surprised to see Klaus' expression, and noticing that he had built it himself, she smiled a bit to herself.
The camp displayed two tree stumps as seats set in the middle, stray glitter sprinkled on the ground, and was warm despite the winter air outside of it due to a small, tamed fire inside. Sitting daintily atop of one of the tree stumps, she smiled softly, "It looks pretty in here—but what's it for?"
"If we're running away, we'll need a place to stay, right?" Klaus grinned; she wasn't sure whether he was sincere or mocking.
Caroline laughed a bit in response, while glancing at her lap. A week ago, she would've never thought to find herself sitting on the edge of a highway alone with the guy most of her friends hated, yet she then looked up, muttering, "Are we really running away?"
"As much as I'd love to run away with you, love, I have a feeling you wouldn't be too happy about it in the end."
He seemed so honest about the situation that she had to blink in surprise; it seemed like him to be selfish and not take her back, but it also seemed like him to put her before himself. Klaus, as Caroline observed, was particular bipolar.
"I could be happy about it in the end," she defended herself, for reasons even she wasn't sure of. "What makes you think I wouldn't?"
"Because I know you. And I know anytime you actually welcome change, you end up regretting it."
She sighed, as for once she was actually looking forward to spending alone time with Klaus, even through all the casual murder and vampires and werewolves and witches and blood they had been through; bad guy against good girl, "Oh."
"Though, I'd love to run away with you, " Klaus smiled a rare, genuine smile towards her. "Just not literally."
Caroline crinkled her eyebrows, kicking off her high heels once the heat of the fire finally affected her, "Is that supposed to be a jab?
"No, have you ever heard of running away in our minds?" he leaned forward, and the blonde girl shook her head in response, and closed her eyes for a moment as she felt the warmth of his breath against her lips. Snowflakes begin to rest on her head, the air both hot and cold at the same time and it finally seeming to feel like the holiday that she had always loved. Klaus continued,
"You and me, against the world. How would you like that, Caroline Forbes?"
;
"I was surprised, as always, how easy the act of
leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was
suddenly rich with possibility."
—Jack Kerouac
;
I hope you liked it, Nala; merry christmas and happy late birthday!
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leave a review, maybe? :)
— Lily
