Well Cristy misssophiachase, you inspired me with the prompt you gave me! I'm taking a little bit of a different direction but I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not know anything about the town I RANDOMLY have chosen for the scenery of this drabble. Please don't be mad if I've butchered it. I also do not own any of the amazing lyrics of the song that this drabble is loosely based from (Enchanted by Taylor Swift). Thank you Taylor Swift for your wonderful lyrics. This is not beta'd so all mistakes are my own. There is a flashback scene in here and that will be in italics. The lyrics are bolded. Time lapses are Bold and Italicized. Please be kind! It took on a mind of it's own. I hope you like it.
Prompt:
When the bus of lead singer Caroline Forbes' band breaks down in a small country town she's going to get more than she bargained for when she runs into resident cowboy Klaus Mikaelson.
Somebody Waiting on You
This trip was going to be the death of her. She always dreaded going to visit Aunt Diane but Liz was adamant that she wasn't going to be around long so Caroline's manager set up a few tour dates in the little town of Cave Creek, Arizona. Caroline was the lead singer of The Swifts, a local grown pop/country band and they had yet to make it back home to the little town of Cave Creek since their career took off.
Aunt Diane is Caroline's dad's younger sister and it was recently discovered that she had stage 3 ovarian cancer and she wasn't taking to treatment. She owned a bed and breakfast right on the main drag through town and that's where the band would be staying for the week. This would give the band a hometown exposure as well as give Caroline the time to say goodbye to her aunt.
"Caroline, you sweet girl get over here!" Aunt Diane called from around the corner of her office.
"Hey Auntie" Caroline responded giving her aunt a light hug. "How are you feeling today?"
"Much better dear! But don't you worry about little old me! How's the tour?! Did I hear you're playing here in town this weekend?!"
"You heard right! The Swifts has finally made it back home" Caroline smiled at her fragile aunt. "You're going to come right?" She winked at Aunt Diane.
"i wouldn't miss it dear. I'll be right in the front row cheerin' you gals on!" Diane smiled back at Caroline. "Let's get y'all settled so you can go and see your momma. She's been itchin' to see you!"
"Oh I bet." Caroline scoffed at the thought. Her and Liz hadn't had the most sturdy relationship these days. Liz always felt like Caroline should give up touring to be with Diane before she passes away.
"Now Care, don't you wanna see your momma?" Aunt Diane smirked at her.
"Of course I do. You just know how she's been with me being on tour and you're here and you're sick and I haven't been able to be here with you. She's just been givin' me a hard time 'cuz I haven't been home to help you at the B&B"
"Care, don't you worry you pretty little mind. I've got the B&B fully covered. That girl Rebekah you were always so close with when you were still here at home works with me now. She's gonna take over when my time comes" Aunt Diane explained.
Well that answered one of Caroline's many questions about her little town of Cave Creek. At least one of the Mikaelson's was still around.
Caroline grew up living next door to the Mikaelson's and her and Rebekah used to be inseparable. They were together everyday until the day that Caroline got recruited for Katerina Petrova's band "The Swifts". Rebekah wasn't exactly not supportive of Caroline's singing dream, she just didn't like to be separated from those she cared the most for. She struggled when her two older brothers went off to college and she was left with Klaus and Kol. Being the only girl having lost her older sister in a car crash five years before meeting Caroline definitely took it's toll on Rebekah. She had no one to turn to so when she and Caroline clicked and Caroline then ended up leaving too, it didn't sit well and Caroline hadn't heard from Rebekah in over a year.
"I'm glad Beks has been here with you Auntie. I'm sorry I haven't been. How is she?"
"How about you ask me yourself?" Rebekah said as she rounded the corner by Caroline's room.
"Beks" Caroline sighed as she engulfed her friend in a big hug.
"Hey Care" she said softly.
"How are you?! I've been an awful friend I know. I don't have any excuses I just figured you would never want to hear from me again after I left"
"I'm ok. Of course I wanted to hear from you Care. You are my best friend. It hurt that you had to leave because I felt all alone again but coming to work here was such a good thing for me. You're Aunt Diane has been amazing. I still can't believe she's gonna leave me in charge of this baby when her day comes. I know you don't want to hear about her passing Care but it won't be long now. She's growing weaker every day."
"I know. It's definitely hard because I've always had a better relationship with her than my own mom but the B&B will be in good hands that's for sure."
"How about I let you get settled and we can go for lunch. When do you have to report for sound check?"
"Not until 6" Caroline replied.
"Ok, I'll meet you at Patsy's? 20 minutes"
"Sounds great"
Caroline walked into the quaint little B&B room she would be residing in for the next week or so and began to unpack. While doing so she reminisced about all the fun she used to have in this little town of hers. She had missed home more than she realised. She was just scared of who she would run into while she was here.
Patsy's was only about a ten minute walk from the B&B so Caroline decided to make the trek to lunch. She walked past Maggie's bakery and then she came across The Grease Monkey. She used to spend a lot of hours there with Rebekah and her brother Klaus. She couldn't believe it was still running.
"Finally came home huh?" she heard a familiar voice say from behind her.
"Klaus?" Caroline was shocked to say the least. If any one of them was desperate to get out of Cave Creek it was him.
"In the flesh" he responded with an all knowing smirk.
"I see your ego hasn't changed" Caroline giggled. It was good to see him. He still had the scruffy face and golden curls that she always remembered on the nights she missed home the most. They were almost together before The Swifts recruited her. They would get together in secret and just talk for hours. You could say Caroline had fallen in love with him and she probably still did love him but it was too late to do anything about it now. She'd been gone for over a year and he hadn't bothered to stay in touch either. She did however write a song and she knew it would be a part of the set list on this leg of the tour. The entire band knew she wrote it about her small town love but none of them knew anything about said small town love. Caroline hoped she could keep it under wraps.
"What are you doing back in town?" Klaus asked.
"Well our tour manager said it was about time we came home. Plus my Aunt Diane isn't doing so well so it'll be nice to be with her for a little while."
"Yeah, Bekah has told me a little bit about it. I'm sorry to hear she's been so sick" Klaus replied.
"Thanks, well I guess I'll see ya later" Caroline said as she began to stride away.
"It was good to see you love" Klaus said as he watched her walk away.
Caroline knew it wasn't anything special but it had been really good to see Klaus again. Seeing him only confirmed that the feelings she had for him way back then still existed. She was going to have to fix that.
A Few Days Later
"Caroline! You've been so spacey! Get your head on straight and lets get back to rehearsal please?" Katherine (Katerina) said as she pulled Caroline out of her bed.
"Sorry Kat. Just a little distracted I guess"
"Is it the mystery song guy that you won't tell me anything about?"
"A little but it's also my Aunt. I don't know how I'm supposed to leave her after this week knowing it's probably the last time I'm going to get to see her."
"Care, if we need to take time off this tour then you tell us. We will support you no matter what. Losing someone is never easy but I can't imagine it's easy from the road and not being there with them."
"Thanks Kat. Let's just see how this week goes ok?"
"Of course. On a happier note, how was lunch with Rebekah the other day?" Kat asked.
"It was good. We just talked about life and what we've both been up to the past year. I told her all about the tour and she talked a lot about this place. She and Auntie have some really good ideas to put in place. They want to have open mic every Friday to support local talent in the dining room beginning at 8! They are looking at implementing more music things into the B&B in support of "The Swifts" "
"That's amazing! I can't wait to see what they end up doing!"
A couple hours passed and Caroline spent most of it with Kat and her Aunt Diane.
"Caroline, have you gone to see your mother yet since you've arrived?" Aunt Diane questioned her.
Caroline just looked at her with a look that would say "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm innocent."
"Caroline, she's been asking to see you, you can't avoid her the whole time you're here. You need to go and visit her. She's missed you."
"Fine. I will go and have a visit with her but if it goes badly I blame you Auntie."
"I think I can live with that" she winked as she pushed Caroline out the front door.
Caroline quickly arrived at the front door of her childhood home. She hadn't seen this porch step in a year and a half, at least. Before she could even knock on the door it shot open and her mother was standing in front of her pulling her into a hug. "Oh Caroline. I've missed you so much" she said muffled by Caroline's hair. Liz pulled back and looked at her daughter. "How are you? Are getting enough to eat on the road? You look like you've lost like 20 pounds since I last saw you!"
"I'm fine Mom. Can we go inside please?"
"Of course! Of course! Come on in! It's a bit of a mess because I've been working some extra hours at the station. Can I get you something to eat?"
"Mom I promise I'm fine and the place looks great. I like the way you moved the furniture around. Really makes the space bigger in here!"
"Thank you sweetie."
Caroline and Liz spent the majority of the afternoon catching up and just enjoying each other's company. Caroline couldn't help but think that it really wasn't so bad sitting here with her mother talking and actually getting to know each other a little better after having spent so much time apart.
"I've really missed you Mom" Caroline blurted.
"I've missed you too honey. I'm glad that the tour has been going so well though. This really has always been your dream. I'm so proud of you for doing so well and following your dreams. But I do have to ask, you don't have the same glow you had when you left, like there is something missing. What are you missing sweetheart?"
"I don't know mom. I love what I am doing but I get lonely I guess. I miss you and Auntie and my friends. Granted I always have Kat right there with me but what about Bekah, and Klaus? They're my friends too and I've really missed them while I've been gone."
"Klaus huh?" Liz asked trying to keep Caroline talking.
"Well yeah I guess. I mean he's my best friends brother I guess that makes us kinda friends right?"
Caroline couldn't believe she let that slip in front of her mother. No one knew about how she felt about Klaus not even Rebekah. How was she going to cover that one up.
"Yeah I guess you could say so" Liz replied and switched the subject immediately. She had a plan to get her daughter's glow back and Caroline could know nothing about it.
"Klaus wait up!" Caroline called after him as he was strolling away from the garage.
"What more do you want from Caroline. I told you how I felt and you're still going to leave! I don't do long distance in case you were wondering. There's no point in keeping this conversation going."
"Klaus I'm sorry but I have to go! It's been my dream since I was a little girl and someone wants to be sing for them now! I want you to support me!"
Caroline sat in her room at the B&B after having visited her mother and thought back to the night she told Klaus that she was going on tour with "The Swifts". It felt like it was only yesterday that they were almost together and now they couldn't be farther apart. They hadn't even had the chance to tell Rebekah. Maybe telling Rebekah would help her now.
That Afternoon
"Hey Bek?" Caroline said as she peeked her head around the corner outside Rebekah's office.
"Hey Care, what's up?"
"I really need to talk to you."
"Ok, here come on in and sit. I will shut the door and we can chat." Rebekah lifted from her seat and shut the door behind Caroline. "What's going on? You look upset."
"There's something I need to tell you and I don't know how you're going to take it."
"Care, I could never hold anything against you. What's going on?"
"I think I'm in love with your brother" Caroline blurted and covered her eyes.
"Oh Care. I've known that since before you left to tour with "The Swifts". He loves you too ya know?"
"I don't think he feels that way about me anymore. There's no way he still has any of those feelings for me anymore."
"Caroline you are seriously giving my brother more credit than he's worth. What has given you the impression that he no longer cares for you as I know he did right before you left?"
"I ran into him before our lunch date the other day and he was just really short with me. You don't talk to someone you love the way he talked to me."
"Good lord Niklaus" Rebekah muttered under her breath. "I'm sorry Care. I don't know what to say. I hope things get better for you. I am glad however that you finally told me how you're feeling. I want you to know you can always talk to me about anything and yes that even includes bitching about my brother."
The girls sat and chatted a little longer before Caroline retreated to get ready for their last show in town that night. "I'll see you at the show?" Caroline asked.
"I wouldn't miss it. Diane and I will be right up front cheering you on!"
"I'll see you later Beks. Thanks again."
"Anytime."
Just a little later (Klaus & Rebekah)
"Niklaus!" Rebekah called through "The Grease Monkey".
"What do you want Bekah? I have work to finish!"
"What do you mean you have work to finish. You need to come to the show tonight. There's a ticket for you at the gate. Just make sure you're there ok?"
"Why would I do such a thing? There's things to be done here.I don't have time to go to some stupid concert Rebekah."
"Not even for Caroline?"
"What does Caroline have to do with me? She's your friend and like I said, I have work to do."
"Whatever Nik, you'll regret it if you don't come tonight."
Klaus sat there and thought long and hard about what had just transpired with his sister. Caroline and he never had the conversation with Rebekah about the two of them even being a possibility. Why would Rebekah be pressuring him to make it to Caroline's bands concert that evening? What would it hurt for him to spend two hours of his time enjoying music?
Klaus hurried home and got changed for the show. When he arrived the crowd was going crazy as the band was just about to take the stage. He hoped this was worth it.
"Care, you ready?" Katherine asked through Caroline's dressing room door.
"Yeah, I'll be right there."
You could say Caroline was nervous. She couldn't even remember the last time she performed in front of so many of her hometown friends and family.
"Care, we've got sixty seconds to get on stage!"
"Ok I'm coming!"
"You ready to open the show?" Katherine asked as Caroline emerged from her dressing room.
"As I'll ever be" Caroline smiled. She would do just fine.
"Hey everybody! Thanks for coming out tonight! We're The Swifts and we're gonna play some music for ya!" Caroline shouted out to the crowd. She reached her mic stand as her drummer clicked the drumsticks to count out the beginning of their set.
Klaus sat in the back for most of the show. It wasn't until the closing song that he finally emerged from the shadows as Katherine slowly strummed her acoustic guitar. Caroline started the lyrics out real soft and slowly crescendoed into the next phrase and began soft again.
There I was again tonight, forcing laughter faking smiles, same old tired lonely place. Walls of insincerity shifting eyes and vacancy vanished when I saw your face.
Klaus listened closely and watched as Caroline finally opened her eyes and she spotted him immediately.
I was Enchanted to meet you…
Her gaze never faltered and Klaus couldn't help but think how magnificent she sounded. She always had an angelic voice but he finally understood why she needed to leave a year and a half ago. She couldn't not pursue this dream! She needed to share this voice with the world because those who hadn't heard it yet were truly missing out.
This night is sparklin' don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck blushin' all the way home. I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew I was Enchanted to meet you!
He couldn't believe how blind he'd been. She didn't leave because she didn't care. She left because she cared too much.
Klaus was always known as the playboy in town and how could he blame her for being so scared. Scared to stay and be with him.
Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you!
Klaus had a lot of sucking up to do.
Caroline wouldn't give up too easily though. Not for such an arrogant playboy cowboy.