A/N: I've been working on this for a couple weeks now and was inspired by the song Ink by Coldplay. The updates may be slightly sporadic but if the feedback on this is good, I'll set about writing more to it. Of course, I don't own anything except my plot. Enjoy!
It had been a year to the day that her mother had died. Caroline seemed her normal, quiet self. She was working a morning shift in the coffee house near her campus, scrubbing the tables and the counter as she always did. She was the only one working and no one else was due to come in until the afternoon. However, Caroline strongly doubted that anyone would be trying to venture outside in the almost apocalyptic weather that nearly the entire northeast seemed to be currently experiencing.
She tossed her towel down on the bar and proceeded to make herself a hot cup of coffee the way she'd started to like it lately: black and sickeningly sweet. Her mind wandered, as it often did, to her mother. She thought about the last time she'd seen her and tried to push a feeling of guilt down in her stomach.
The day her mother died, Caroline had been making up a test she'd missed for her sociology class. Her professor had been fine with letting her do so since she was a cheerleader for Whitmore College and had to miss class from time to time. Her mother called during the test and she'd ignored it, believing she would be able to call her back when she was done. But her mother had not answered. This was normal. Sometimes her mother called when she was in class and she wasn't always able to answer. But this time was different. After her mother called and received no answer, she sent Caroline a long and detailed message saying how much she loved her and how proud of her she was.
That night, Caroline got a call from the Mystic Falls police department that Elizabeth Forbes had committed suicide. She called her father, Bill Forbes, to ask if she could come to live with him and he'd politely declined, stating that he just didn't have the time or room for her. Caroline wasn't sure what had hurt her more at the time: her mother's death or her father's rejection.
Her friends had tried to be there for her. They really did. But despite the fact that some of them knew what it was like to lose a parent, none of them knew what it was like to have a parent commit suicide. Caroline had felt trapped in Mystic Falls after the death of her mother. She'd felt that there was nowhere else she could go. Her father didn't want her and her friends had all been accepted into colleges. So, Caroline applied to Mayberry West University, a school located in somewhat rural Mayberry Hills, Vermont. She'd been accepted on a full scholarship for her grades, cheer, and the fact that she had a deceased mother as well as an absentee father.
If she was honest with herself, she could say that she was mostly content with attending Mayberry West and working in the coffee house. It was in these places that she felt safe and far removed from the nightmare that was Mystic Falls. Here, she had her own apartment and the shop was practically hers since she was the only one who ever worked. The owner, a rarely seen man by the name of Enzo, had put her in charge and paid her far more than any person in a coffee shop should make because he travelled all the time.
So, at present, her life was not horrible. But she wished she didn't always feel so angry and empty and hurt. She was content, yes, but that was not the same as happy. She wondered inwardly if she might ever know the feeling of happiness again.
"Excuse me, do you work here?"
Caroline nearly jumped upon seeing that she was no longer alone inside the dim little coffee shop. She sipped at her coffee and nodded. "What do you need?"
It was a man who'd come in, one that couldn't be much older than her. He had light brown curly hair and a slight beard that seemed to age him by three or four years. He was marvelously tall, making her feel dwarf-like, and had huge dark blue eyes that seemed to be taking in everything at once. There was a hint of a smile on his face that fostered the impression that he was about to laugh at any given moment.
"Shelter, actually. Have you seen what it looks like out there?" he replied as he took off his soaked jacket and laid it across the chair next to him. He had an accent, British, if Caroline was guessing correctly. However, he didn't really seem out of place in the shop.
"I'll get you some coffee before you die of hypothermia." Caroline had meant it to come off in a joking way, but she was almost certain that she'd sounded serious. "Why are you even out in this weather anyway?"
For a while, the man watched her make his coffee, an ever present tug at the corners of his mouth. His eyes showed genuine interest in what she was doing. Part of her wanted to smack that look off his face and the other part of her found it endearing. He dug into the bag he carried on his shoulder and produced a sketchbook and a pencil.
Caroline gave him a curious look before setting his coffee down in front of him and cleaning the area she'd just been in. Silence stretched between them as she cleaned and put things away, letting out a slight huff of annoyance every now and then.
"Have I done something to offend you, Ms…?"
He'd startled her again. She was once again lost in her thoughts of Mystic Falls and her life before her mother died. She suddenly felt as if she wanted to throw up. "What?"
The man frowned slightly at this, slight concern appearing his ocean eyes. "I asked if I did anything to make you angry. You appear to be quite annoyed, and if I've done anything-"
Caroline rolled her eyes and huffed. "My name's Caroline." Her voice came out short and clipped, and somewhere in the back of her head, she knew he was just trying to be nice to her. But, she didn't care about any of it. Today was a year since the worst day of her whole life.
"Klaus Mikaelson, if it matters to you," he said, as if she hadn't just verbally repelled him. "And I was on my way back to my apartment from The Hybrid. I realized once I got to the corner of Treebrook and Hartland that that would be impossible so I decided to come in here to wait it out. I am beginning to think that may not have been the best idea seeing as you're so...angry."
His voice didn't sound condescending to Caroline, but something about the way he said what he said annoyed her. The old her, the Caroline that had existed before the death of her mother, was scolding her for being so mean to such a cute guy, but the new her couldn't find it in her to care much. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, counting to thirty. She didn't want to be an asshole to Klaus. He didn't seem like an entirely horrible guy.
"I'm sorry, Klaus, really. Today is just...not the best day and I shouldn't be taking it out on you. For me being a douche lord, you get to have free coffee for the day." This time, Caroline was actually able to manage a smile and it reached her eyes. She couldn't explain how or why she seemed to feel this comfortable around this man.
Regardless of her attitude, Klaus smiled. "Well, I thank you immensely but you should know that isn't necessary. I don't mind paying." Caroline mentally reminded herself not to charge him for anything he ordered the rest of his time there today. "Would you mind terribly if I asked what the source of your anger was today?"
She realized then that maybe she'd allowed herself to grow too comfortable in Klaus' presence. The thought occurred to her that she hadn't really been too angry since he'd walked into the shop, just annoyed that he was there ruining her wallowing in such anger.
"I don't think that is any of your business." She didn't sound angry or annoyed. If anything, her voice was flat and monotone, the way one would sound when trying to ensure that their feelings would not show in the words they were speaking to someone.
He nodded and took a sip of the coffee he had in front of him. "That is absolutely true. However, I do feel that perhaps I deserve the Sparknotes version of things?"
Caroline leveled him a flat look. "My life sucks."
Suddenly, the shop was filled with a bark-like laugh, one that was absolutely hysterical, and the kind that was absolutely infectious to anyone in a mile radius. She realized that all that sound was coming from the large, tree-like man that Klaus was. She found herself, for the first time in many months, smiling and laughing. It wasn't anything close to the way she used to be before her mother died, but it made her feel better anyway. Thinking of her mother, Caroline could not have noticed that her smile faded and she got a far off look in her eyes.
Klaus, however, did notice. "The elusive thing you refused to tell me about has taken root in your mind again, I see." It was an observation, and yet Caroline found herself compelled to tell him anyway, despite the fact that she didn't know him. Maybe that was why she felt compelled to tell him.
It had been pure hell telling her friends what had happened to her mother. They'd tried to understand, and they'd tried to help her. Lord knew they did. But they wanted her to talk about it and refused to respect the fact that she just couldn't. The one exception to this rule was Bonnie. She hadn't said anything more other than apologizing for her loss. She knew Caroline better than Elena did, and knew her well enough to know that all she wanted was someone to be there for her. Elena had good intentions, but she'd annoyed and eventually alienated Caroline. Tyler had tried to help too: he'd lost his father and thought he could relate to what Caroline was going through. But he really didn't. No one did. It was one thing for your parent to die of cancer, a car accident, or some other natural occurrence. It was another thing entirely to know that your parent actually took their own life.
"I suppose that would be absolutely awful. I would say that I could relate, because my own father took his own life, but I doubt that is what you wish to hear right now." Klaus said eventually.
It shocked Caroline to realize she'd said all of this out loud. Her mind had been so far away from Klaus and the shop and Mayberry Hills. She found, though, that talking about it didn't cause her anger anymore so much as it seemed to only cause her pain and sadness.
"We were so close. We were together all the time, and when I was at Whitmore, she called me every single morning and evening. I just...I can't understand how...why she would…"
"Leave you?" Klaus finished her question, his expression becoming unreadable when he noticed that Caroline was now openly crying. He cocked his head to the side; the way a dog might, feeling vaguely useless at not being able to comfort her.
"It sounds so selfish when you put it that way."
"She was your mother. From what it sounds like, you were a hell of a lot closer to your parents than I ever was with mine." Klaus started drinking his coffee again, his eyes wandering around the shop as he waited for Caroline to collect herself.
"You're mistaken, Klaus." Caroline answered with a bitter laugh. "I was close to my mother. My father? He didn't want me. Told me he didn't have the space or time for me. Imagine that."
Silence engulfed the shop, and all that could be heard was the sound of rain pounding against the windows and roof. The wind had now taken on a howling effect. From where she was standing, Caroline couldn't see anyone outside. The few cars that dared to be out in this weather were crawling by at a snail's pace to minimize the risk of hydroplaning.
"What ridiculous men." Klaus spoke up eventually. He was stirring his coffee absently and closed his notebook.
Caroline decided not to ask what he meant and just began making herself a latte. "So, you said you were coming back from The Hybrid. Why?" Her attempt to lighten the mood worked apparently since Klaus was giving her that weird smile again.
"I work there," Klaus replied. "I'm a tattoo artist. The head tattoo artist, actually."
Caroline's eyes widened slightly at this as she began to look over Klaus again. He was wearing a jacket with a sweater underneath, dark jeans, and some sort of dark shoes. This hair, though slowly drying, was still plastered to his forehead. Peeking up out of the collar of the sweater was a tattoo that seemed to wrap around his neck, though Caroline wasn't quite sure what it was.
"It's a wolf, Caroline. I wanted it to be a vampire since I do my best work at night, but I think I probably fit the nature of a werewolf a bit more. So it's a wolf with golden eyes and slightly different teeth. The teeth are vampire teeth with blood dripping from them." Klaus explained.
Her eyebrow went up as she smiled slightly. "That's pretty cool. How long did it take to get done?"
His hands went up to rest behind his head and he sat a bit more backward in the chair. "It took about four hours. My neck was strained for days after that and my hands were unbelievably crampy."
Caroline came around the bar to sit in the chair next to him. "You did that yourself? With no help?"
"I did. It'll be the last time I do a tattoo on myself for a while. What about you? What do you do?" Klaus asked.
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm a photography major. I really don't know what's going to happen when I graduate, but I got into photography not long after my mother died. But lately...I haven't felt that urge I usually do to take pictures. If I just had something to push me...I don't know."
Klaus watched her as if she were the most interesting person in the whole wide world, waiting to see if she would talk again before asking, "What are you doing tonight?"
"Well, I have a natural photography class this evening at 5pm but the teacher cancelled because of the rain, so nothing. Why?"
"I work at The Hybrid from 7pm to 3am. If you want to come in and just look at the work we do...maybe you'll feel inspired to take more pictures. What do you think?"
Caroline watched him as she tugged at her lips before setting her shoulders and asking, "Are you asking me out?"
That same bark-like laughter filled the shop again and Caroline found herself smiling along with him. "Yes," he replied. "Yes, I suppose I am. Thought I don't think it could really be called that since I'll be at work."
For the first time in a while, Caroline genuinely laughed. "You know what they say," she said after a while. "It isn't work if you're doing what you love."
He laughed along with her and a large smile took over his face, the type that seemed to make your split your face in half. "You're certainly right, Caroline. You are most certainly right."
A/N: What did you think? Leave some reviews so I can know if it's a good idea to add more to this story!