This happens sometime after 5-11. More will be explained to you later when you find out how/why/when Caroline agreed to go with him. For now, assume that Klaus didn't really go off to rule New Orleans. Haley isn't pregnant...yet. Caroline didn't go to college for very long, but her and Klaus did have sex. Katherine did take over Elena's body. Stefan did get locked in the coffin by Silas for the whole summer. Bonnie is the anchor. Etc. Basically unless I say it didn't happen...it did happen. Haha(;
This is roughly based on an old movie I watched called Move Over, Darling. Doris Day stares in it, and she's just a delight. In the movie, the guy's name is even Nick. You should definitely check out the movie! I've changed quite a bit, but the general idea is the same. So it won't spoil it too much. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Free-Fall
The first thought that came to Caroline Forbe's mind as she felt herself free-falling through the air was that she never should have agreed to go on this trip. As her body hit the freezing cold water, pain shot through her. It brought both a sharpness and a haziness to her brain. Adrenaline was pumping in her veins. Her eyes stung from the salt water. Her entire body ached from hitting the water from that high up, and as her eyes frantically searched the sea, she worried that some debris might fall on her. Of course, she was Caroline Forbes, a baby vampire, but a vampire nonetheless. She would survive this crash. This thought did not ease her pain, though. She felt her body stiffen due to the cold, and she wondered if she could drown as a vampire. If she passed out and just kept falling, would she ever make it to surface again?
...
Twenty minutes earlier...
...
"Love, I don't see why you had to bring the pet along," Klaus grumbled.
He was referring to Stefan. Caroline had insisted on bringing him on their last trip because Stefan really needed a pick-me-up. He was dealing with confusing messages from Elena, and his brother on the fritz. It had been a rough year for him, and she knew that her not being there wasn't making it any better. Now he really didn't have anyone to talk to. She was his best friend, and she'd left him. Caroline had convinced Klaus to allow Stefan to come three days before they left. The persuasion had taken an interesting turn, and let's just say that what happens in Rome, stays in Rome. But even after all the effort she put in, Klaus was still complaining. He'd been whining all day, actually.
She rolled her eyes for the billionth time that day, "Get over it, Klaus. He stays. End of story."
Klaus sat in his seat, ruminating in his grumpy state for a moment or two. They were aboard a plane, seated in first-class, of course. Klaus had promised to take her to Paris, Rome, and Tokyo. Caroline had finally agreed to go with him, to let him take her to see the world, five months ago. They'd spent two months in Paris, two months in Rome, and now they were headed to Tokyo so he could fulfill his promise. They had taken a few weeks in between each trip to visit New Orleans, which was the one place that Klaus might have eventually called home. Caroline was having the time of her life.
She was seeing the world from a completely new perspective, and she wasn't so immersed in all the drama of Mystic Falls. It had really taken a toll on her nerves, and when Elena started to go after Stefan again...she just couldn't handle it. Caroline could not spend another four years dealing with the same rotation of drama, and after what had transpired between her and Klaus...well, she was tempted to see what could come of it. So far, he was really proving to be a good companion. Well, sometimes...
Klaus sighed, mirth dancing in his eyes, "Well, I guess I could get used to having a drinking buddy along. I do miss my old pal, the Ripper. He was quite a bit of fun back in the day."
He knew it would irritate her. He was hoping to get a rise out of her at the very least in revenge. At the most, he hoped she'd convince Stefan to go back to Mystic Falls where he belongs, so Klaus wouldn't have any influence on him. He really should've known better.
Caroline was flustered, her anger was rising to the surface, "You! You will not, I repeat, will not turn Stefan into the Ripper again. Do you hear me, Niklaus?"
His eyes turned dark. He wasn't playing anymore.
"And you will not tell me what to do," he spit out, venom thick on every syllable of each of his words.
It was Klaus's pet peeve. He loved that she challenged him. He loved that she was strong and not afraid of him. He loved the banter, the chase, the flght. But what he didn't love was being told what to do. She had to know her place. Even she, could not command him around.
She fought back the fear that was beginning to surface as she growled, "When you are acting like this, you better expect that I will."
The disdain was heavy in her voice. Klaus moved his face closer to hers, a snarl threatening to rip out of his throat. His eyes were menacing. It was at these moments when Caroline felt helpless. What was she doing here with this monster?
"You forget who you are speaking to, love," he spit out in a whisper, sarcastically using the term of endearment that was a casual occurrence on his tongue.
She shook her head, the fury was fiery in her eyes. Even in these moments, Klaus couldn't help, but think she was beautiful. Sometimes he wondered what he was doing here with her. He was never going to be good. She was never going to be bad. There was nothing either of them could do, and that's why they had these little spats on a weekly basis. But the fights usually didn't get this heated.
"Seriously? Are you going to play that card with me? Mr. Macho Alpha Male? Well that's bull shit and you know it," she was trying not to raise her voice too high, but people were starting to look at them.
Of course, when Klaus shot them a returning death glare, they tended to look away. His gaze returned to hers. It almost took her breath away. He was just...gorgeous. Even when he was this furious, she saw who he really was. His humanity was still in the depths of his eyes, and she was probably the one person in the world that could see it. But when he did this-she felt this overpowering emotion. She couldn't quite pinpoint it, but she liked to just take it as pure hatred.
His grip tightened on the arm rest, "I will not tolerate-"
She narrowed her eyes, getting up closer to his face, "And I will not tolerate you hurting my friend."
They had an intense stare down for a few moments. A growl ripped through his chest. His eyes turned yellow then back to blue.
"Well, sweetheart, maybe you should get used to it. That's the only thing I'm good at-hurting people."
Caroline knew that behind this mask he was showing her, there was some hidden insecurity causing this fight. His words said it all. He wasn't going to change, and she needed to stop expecting him to. That's what he wanted her to understand. She searched his eyes for any sign of anything. Any sign of remorse or hurt or sadness. She didn't find what she was looking for.
Caroline huffed, turning away from him. She crossed her arms over her chest, biting her lip.
"Why do you always have to do this? Why do you have to be such an ass?" It was just barely a broken whisper now.
She was done screaming and fighting. She was just sick of it. She hated the way that he was looking at her right now, and she knew she had to get away. Caroline refused to cry in front of him. She didn't want him to have the satisfaction, and she certainly did not want to be comforted by him.
Klaus knew he had screwed up. His eyes melted at her heart-wrenching words. He opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't know what to say. Then she got up and left him. He knew she was about to cry. Klaus immediately rose to follow her. He was afraid that this time he had gone too far. He was constantly afraid that she would change her mind and leave him. A terrible, evil beast that he was didn't deserve to have their own personal sunshine.
Klaus growled when he saw Stefan stand and nod to him. He had made sure that Stefan was sitting at the very back of the first-class section. He wasn't happy about Stefan being there, and his protest was getting the whole plane ride alone with Caroline. That bloke was going to go after her and comfort her. Part of Klaus was glad. He really didn't think he had anything to say that would make a difference right now. He wouldn't be able to comfort her. He never felt like he could. It wasn't something he was good at. But the other part of him wanted to rip out Stefan's throat and go after his girl. She needed to know that he took it back. He couldn't lose her. He would do anything for her. He wanted to kiss away the tears that he knew were staining her flawless face.
Stefan followed Caroline to the very back of the plane as Klaus sat down again in his seat near the very front. Caroline hadn't stopped at any of the bathrooms. She needed space. She wanted to get as far away from that devil as possible. She knew Stefan was following her, but she didn't stop. The tears were spilling over now, and people were staring. She ignored them. When she got to the bathroom, she pounded on the door. No one was inside, so she threw herself in. Stefan followed after a second. He held her in that tiny, confined space as sobs ripped through her body. She felt so weak and stupid for letting Klaus affect her like this.
"Shh, it's okay. What happened?" Stefan rubbing her back.
She struggled with her words, "You-know-what-what-happ-ened."
He nodded, "I really wish you guys were fighting over me. It makes me feel pretty guilty."
Caroline tried to get herself under control again, "N-No, Stef. This was not your fault. It's-It's him. Don't feel guilty."
Stefan shook his head, "Caroline..."
She looked up, tears still streaming. His tone had changed, alerting her.
"Care, what's really wrong? What's this really about?"
Her brow furrowed. Stefan knew why they had fought. It was about Klaus being his usual self and saying he was going to wreck Stefan's life-Caroline's friend's life-just because Klaus was throwing a temper tantrum for not getting his way. She explained all of this to Stefan, a bit exasperated because he knew all of this. He could hear the entire conversation due to his vampirism.
Stefan rolled his eyes, "Obviously, Caroline. But I mean, why are you crying? I know that you would be seriously pissed off after that conversation, but it doesn't seem like something to make you cry."
Stefan raised an eyebrow as she looked away. Caroline smiled sadly. He was right. There was a reason that she had to get so much distance from herself and Klaus. There was a reason why she was balling her eyes out in the super tiny bathroom.
"I love him," it was barely audible.
She was still staring at the wall, so she didn't notice Stefan's big smile spread across his face.
"I love him," she sighed. "And-and it's so hopeless."
She back to Stefan, puzzled by his smile, "He's a terrible person, Stefan. He murders people. And he relishes in it. In other people's pain. But I mean, we are all bad people, right? It's just-he's worse. And he reminds me of it all the time like he's trying to push me away. And...sometimes I wonder how much of a terrible person I must be to love someone like him. It's getting to the point where sometimes it doesn't even bother me anymore-the bloodshed, the killing. So I feel like I have to fight him to fight for my humanity. But I still love him."
She finished, staring back at the wall again.
Stefan paused, thinking quietly, "We've all done bad things, Caroline. No one is really any better than anyone else...especially considering he's lived over three as long as the rest of us. You can't live your life trying to do what other people have told you is right. You are pushing away from him because you think it's wrong to feel that way about him. But does it feel wrong to you, Care? Not when you think about everyone else and everything else. Just when you think about you and him."
Caroline looked back to him, hopeful, "No. It doesn't feel wrong. It feels...flawless."
"Loving someone doesn't make you a bad person, Care. Love makes you stronger. But you should fight for your humanity too."
She nodded, the brims of her eyes pooling with tears.
"Have you told him?" Stefan asked.
Caroline shook her head and then sighed, "I wouldn't know how to...He probably wouldn't even believe me. And then, what if he doesn't love me back? What if-"
Stefan just smiled, chuckling a bit, "I never knew my best friend as one to be scared so easily."
She scowled at him, playfully, "Stefan Salvatore. I am not scared."
He raised an eyebrow. She huffed in return, but she smiled.
"Okay, so maybe I am a little scared, but-" she bit her lip. "I guess I can...I can do this. I'm gonna go tell him, right now."
Stefan grinned, hugging her one last time.
"Just be courteous enough to not join the mile high club in the bathroom closest to where I sit."
She smacked his chest, playfully, but she was giggling now. Caroline wiped the tears from her eyes.
"How do I look?"
Stefan smiled, "Great. Now go get 'em."
"Thanks, Stefan," she said, as he turned to open the door.
Just then, they felt a rumbling of turbulence. Stefan fell back into Caroline. She giggled, nervously. She would never admit it, but this is exactly what she was afraid would happen. Plane crashes were one of the only things she truly feared besides wooden stakes, vervain shots, and werewolf bites. She knew it was a silly fear. She would survive. Klaus would definitely survive. But she couldn't help feeling worried for him. She was hoping that he wouldn't try any heroics. He needed to stay in his seat, buckle in, and not try to find her. In the back of her mind she knew what he'd say.
"Don't think for a second that I'm ever going to let you go, sweetheart."
So...don't hate me. But this is not going to be a super fluffy fic. Caroline and Klaus are going to have problems. I am going to have them paired with people you might DESPISE. But trust me, I am a true Klaroliner, and in the end, it will be truly fantastic. So just bare with me(;
Let me know what you think! Review-it lets me know that the story is worth the effort! (: