Cami sat in her living room, dumbfounded by the letter she just received. It still sat on the coffee table, the embossed stationary clear as day. It was the contents of the writing that gave her pause. Cami's elbows rested on her knees.
A knock on the door took Cami out of her thoughts. When she opened it there stood Klaus. "Hi, come in."
"Hello, Camille." Klaus replied with a dimpled grin.
Cami moved aside to let him pass. It took everything in her not to let her eyes wander to the letter on the table. She knew there was no way for her to discreetly put it away without Klaus questioning it. If Cami did not draw attention to it, Klaus wouldn't notice it.
Klaus hung his coat on the peg by the door. He looked downright cheerful. Cami plastered a smile onto her face, not wanting to ruin his mood. Klaus brandished a small box from one of his coat pockets. "For you."
The smile on Cami's face turned real, momentarily forgetting her troubles. "Already?"
"Never too early to give gifts." Klaus shrugged.
Cami shook her head but smiled. "It's the first week of December." She never allowed herself to become comfortable with Klaus extravagance. "I don't even have a tree up."
Klaus placed the small box on her counter. "Well when you get one, this will be the first gift to go under it." Klaus smiled, content to look at Cami, who reclaimed her seat on the sofa. "This year Rebekah has chosen our holiday destination: Aspen." Klaus shook his head as he sat on the arm of a chair. "I've been so often it's become a touch mundane but I know you will enjoy in it." Klaus noticed Cami staring off into space. "Perhaps you'll join me in my tradition of throwing snowballs with rocks in them at little children."
Cami rolled her eyes his way but couldn't suppress her smirk. Klaus noticed the tense set of her shoulders. Camille's normally expressive face was blank, which meant she was trying to hide something. Klaus gave her a pointed look, wordlessly asking her to explain.
Cami looked at him, obviously debating whether to tell him or not. She sighed before moving her eyes to the discarded letter on the table. Klaus quickly snatched it up, his eyes narrowing as he read the fancy script.
Camille,
We cordially invite you to spend the holidays with us. Your presence would truly make the season bright.
Maxwell and Irene O'Connell
Two plane tickets were folded inside the letter. Klaus looked over the paper at Cami, his eyebrows raised. Surely she was not considering going to them. Of all things he surely had not expected that. Camille's head rested on her threaded fingers under her chin, her eyes were on the ground. Klaus bit back his initial reaction of anger.
"My parents invited me home for Christmas." Cami said with weak enthusiasm.
"This hardly seems like a warm invitation." Klaus said lightly, fighting the urge to rip the offensive paper to bits. "Its the definition of impersonal."
"You don't know my parents." Cami sighed, sounding tired. She waved a hand at the letter. "The fact that they sent it at all-"
Klaus slammed the invitation down on the table, making it shake. "Far too little and much too late." Klaus declared. He didn't bother listing their numerous sins, he had no desire to drudge up the tragic past, that would only hurt Camille, and she was walking down memory lane as it is.
Cami's eyes lifted to meet his and Klaus felt his heart contract in his chest. Klaus recognized the determination in them. The same one that drove her to New Orleans in the first place. "You've decided to go."
"Klaus, I have to know why they've invited me. I-"
Klaus held up a hand. "You needn't explain yourself to me." His own parental issues remained unspoken between them. Klaus grounded his teeth to stop himself from making a damning remark. "Promise me that you'll call should you need me."
The humorous look on Cami's face let Klaus know he wouldn't be needed, but he remained serious. Cami threw up a hand in surrender. "Fine." Klaus' expression remained stony, like he wanted to drill it into her head. "I promise, Klaus, I promise. If there is an emergency I will call you."
"It doesn't have to be an emergency." Klaus clarified. "If something goes wrong, or...if you just want to talk..." He cleared his throat, and averted his eyes.
Cami smiled to herself, . She enjoyed seeing Klaus flustered, but put him out of his misery. "Thank you." She said quietly.
Klaus eyes met hers once more. Damn, when Klaus looked at her like that it made Cami feel warm all over. It was one of the moments where the line of friendship blurred into the possibility of something more. These moments were happening more and more often. Cami felt as if she were drowning.
"Um," Now who needed rescuing? "At least this is one year I won't have to crash your family Christmas." Cami joked.
Klaus reaction was opposite of what Cami intended. He scowled. "I thought I made it abundantly clear in the past, Camille, you are family."
The declaration took Cami off guard, and it hung in the air for a few moments. Cami did not know how to respond. Klaus looked at Cami hard, as if he was disappointed that she did not come to this realization herself. He looked away sullenly. "I hope you enjoy your Christmas with your family."
"Enjoy Aspen with yours." Cami managed.
Klaus departure Cami more confused than when he arrived.