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Clash of Stars
Prologue
Hollywood may not be the exact heart of the world. It may not be where the most important decisions are made. It may not be where peace and salvation is coming from. But somehow it was where the world was turned to. It was where most movies and television shows were produced and who could deny the appeal of the seventh art? So many more eyes were turned to Hollywood than to Wall Street or the United Nations Headquarters. It didn't matter that it just showed how shallow modern people could be, it was still true.
There were many problems to be fixed in the world such as wars, hunger, incurable diseases, and while Hollywood didn't help with any practical solution, maybe it offered some sort of comfort, some light, some joy to the people who needed a distraction from their real lives. It didn't solve any of their issues, but it certainly didn't make them worse – for the most part. People rather watch Brad Pitt in a nonsense perfume advertisement than his fiancée in the refugee fields. And Angelina Jolie – and many others – was the proof that sometimes Hollywood actually helped in a more practical way. But that certainly wasn't the case with Niklaus Mikaelson.
Drugs, DUI, prostitutes, alcohol, and all sort of scandals followed Klaus – his chosen nickname – wherever he went. Klaus was Prince Harry uncensored as the actor didn't have such an extensive security detail. Everyone knew Harry is far more wild than media divulged, the star-pictured, divulged by TMZ being nothing on his curriculum of extra-activities, especially when he was accompanied by his countryman actor.
The twenty-eight year old proudly carried trouble wherever he went, and currently that trouble was in a miniseries made for television. His best days on acting were behind him – drugs put a damper in his evolution – but he was still what most people called talented, being as good as he was in his breakthrough fourteen years ago. Then why was he doing a small cable channel miniseries instead of blockbusters? Because, just like Lindsay Lohan, to get him to actually do the work he was paid for was quite the challenge. He was mostly late to the shootings – that was when he even appeared at all – and sometimes the companions he brought – in addition to being drunk or high – didn't really help the crew to go through the scenes scheduled for the day.
He was what someone could call high maintenance. Still he was given a chance here and there, although everyone in the business was wary to work with him. Not even his brother's big name in the industry helped. There was so much Elijah could keep doing to help his brother. The older Mikaelson was the reason why Klaus was in the business in the first place. The rewarded director showed his value at an early age, and now, sixteen years and a couple of Oscars under his belt later, Elijah Mikaelson had an envied reputation that not even his brother could tarnish. Still producers stopped saying yes to the favors he asked around about his brother. At some point during Klaus' career Elijah was actually the one saying the occasional 'no' to people coming to him to cast his younger brother in one of their movies. Things had definitely changed ever since.
Until a couple of years back Elijah had managed to convince investors, producers, studios and TPTB to have Klaus in his movies. As a director he had a lot of saying, but the moment Klaus' name was mentioned, more and more partners just suddenly mentioned another upcoming project that they were going to have their hands full with or financial issues.
Being still young and incredibly handsome, Klaus started receiving calls he hadn't expect. It seemed like he was becoming somewhat of a call man or boy toy. It started with women needing him to look hot by their side at some event, or to have their name associated with his to erase even worse publicity than Niklaus Mikaelson – and that actually existed, and somehow Kanye West thought it was love. His reputation preceded him. Sometimes there were some debutants that convinced their wealthy parents about having Klaus – of all people – sharing a waltz with them. Klaus didn't mind any of that. Sex was his favorite thing in the world, and if some cougars wanted to pay him for that he wouldn't stop them, as he aimed to please. They should know he'd agree with them even if money wasn't involved, he didn't have any prejudice as long as the sex was good.
Still somehow the industry was far more forgiving about the Brit than they had been about other trouble seekers. Producers and directors still thought there was hope for him and that was the reason why he had a contract waiting for him while he was still on rehab, which would start the moment he stepped out of the Alabama centre. It was a good thing he had never planned to stay for the three months he was supposed to, but still he made progress as far as keeping himself on quarantine went. This time he had managed to stay for long three weeks with no alcohol, drugs, women or even cigarettes. As a result from detoxing for three weeks, he was positive he would be able to stay clean for the next couple of days. And then he would make up for the lost time and jump with both feet in his lifestyle. Because that's what Klaus felt. This was his lifestyle, not something he couldn't control or needed to be controlled.
BBC America decided the reckless actor was worth yet another chance. Maybe the tenth – if not more – he had been given to resume the career that once was compared to Leonardo DiCaprio's. At least Klaus did manage to win that Oscar Leo was still trying hard to get. And that he shared with Jolie, except he became the 'Boy, Interrupted' much more than the now humanitarian, mother of six actress became as years passed. When Angie said 'enough', Klaus said 'keep it going'. And until this day he continued to say so.
"I think you lost this somewhere, but I made you a favor and now you can get into your strumpet dress and leave," a female voice said, throwing the small piece of fabric at another girl, who was lying on the bed, barely conscious of her surroundings.
"Move! You're not needed here anymore. Are you waiting for payment, or did you actually pay for it?" the blonde woman asked, her hand already in her purse in case she needed to write a check.
"Neither, sister dear… dear… hmm… this lovely," the intoxicated man in the bed said, double checking the woman by his side, "brunette came here on her free will," , before turning to the departing woman, "And horniness," he smirked, winking to the girl as she stumbled her way out of the dark bedroom.
"To what do I give the honor to have you here so early, sweetheart?" Klaus asked without looking at the woman walking towards the window.
"It's over noon, Nik," Rebekah Mikaelson said as she opened the blinds of her older brother's bedroom.
"It's too early for me and the midday sunlight is definitely inappropriate, I'm a vampire!" Klaus protested using one of his arms to cover his eyes from the light.
"And that's why you don't have any color in your skin, but instead you have dark circles right under your eyes?" she asked almost softly, as she removed his arm harshly, confirming everything she just stated as he looked at her.
"I have to keep it in character, make it believable. It's part of an actor's research," he answered, touching the nearby nightstand until he found his shades – that were there for a reason – before moving them to cover his eyes from the unwelcome light.
"Nik, you just came back from rehab. Won't you ever get tired of this life?" she motioned to the messy bedroom, that reeked of alcohol and other things she was thankful for not being able to identify.
"It worked for Charlie Sheen, and as far as I can say, he keeps winning, so why change?" Klaus shrugged, before he stood up and entered his walk-in closet.
"Why can't you look at RDJ? Look at how his career totally turned around," she tried to reason, but he waved her away.
"Do you realize not only he stopped with everything, but he also got hitched and had kids? Do you really hate me that much, little sister to wish such a tragic end to me?"
"You're incorrigible," she sighed, following him inside.
"And that, dear sister, is what I've been trying to tell you and 'Lijah for a decade now, but you never listen" he flashed a perfect grin, before he found a pair of jeans, putting it on with some difficulty. It wasn't easy to stand and get dressed while his head was hammering and his balance center was totally out of place.
"Nik, this could be your last chance. Don't you want to stop being invited to sweet sixteen balls and to accessorize decayed actresses arms?" she asked exasperatedly, while her brother looked like the picture of calm and peace.
"Do you ever hear me complaining?" he said as he put a long sleeved Henley on.
"You can't be happy about wasting your talent like that!" she protested.
"Oh sweetheart, I'm not wasting any of my fantastic skills. You could ask any of the women coming here if they feel like any talent was wasted," he smirked, with a knowingly look.
"Spare me from details of your excuse of a sex life," she grimaced as they headed towards his kitchen.
"I'm not the one mentioning it or interrupting it," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Please, that ragdoll couldn't endure another round of walking, let alone sex," Rebekah shook her head disapprovingly, but Klaus could care less about what anyone thought about his life, even if it was his beloved sister.
"I didn't need her to do any walking… or moving… or even breathing," Klaus smirked as he started the coffee machine. He had since long ago given up on his tea in the morning. It normally didn't help with the hangover as coffee did and he wasn't a fan of black tea.
"That's a disturbing thought even for you, Niklaus," she grimaced, feeling literally disgusted by the implication of his words, although he didn't mean it literally.
"Care for some tea?" he offered, and when she nodded, he put the water to boil, taking a seat in the nearest chair.
"When are you supposed to start shooting?" Rebekah asked grabbing two mugs from his cabinets, being familiar with where everything was at his place.
"This weekend."
"Who starts a work schedule on a weekend?" she asked, shaking her head.
"People who know I might miss the first couple of days and have hopes for it to actually begin any time during the following week," he smirked, and just then the kettle whistled.
"And when do you plan for it to start?" she rolled her eyes, choosing her tea flavor from the boxes he had in the first drawer.
"This Saturday, actually," he said before handing her sugar, as he filled her mug with the boiling water, his coffee already waiting for him.
She released a breath, relieved to know that at least he seemed to be committed enough with this project to actually show up when it was scheduled to start. That would be a change from the last dozen of projects he had been involved with.
They sat silently, as she put an ungodly amount of sugar on her tea. He sipped his coffee, grimacing a little, and noticing it, she moved the sugar recipient closer to him, but he shook his head negatively.
"No, thanks sister, sugar won't help with the hangover. Also I suppose I'll have my share of needed glucose with my co-star. The girl is the definition of sweet," He smirked, already thinking of the many – and delicious – ways he was going to corrupt his next co-star. She was his favorite flavor – sweet as candy, pure as wool – and he couldn't wait until he could be introduced to her wildness. That if she had already been acquainted with that side of her. But in case she hadn't, he would be pleased to do the introductions himself. She screamed boring sex if he was honest, but after he was done with her she would be screaming something completely different.
There was a reason why the network decided to release Klaus' name after they had almost finished casting The Originals miniseries. Some executives thought Klaus was exactly what they needed to catch a younger demo's attention and get good ratings with the newest vampire inspired production. But they knew chances were slim of any respectable actor to agree in a project linked to the Hollywood's most troubling boy. Especially their female lead…
"Elena Gilbert, you're dead!" a clearly enraged Caroline Forbes yelled as she entered her agent's office.
"I didn't have a clue, okay?" the brunette answered, already expecting the unusual morning visit. The moment the news was released only an hour ago, Elena knew this was coming. She called Alaric Saltzman, the miniseries producer, showing how displeased she was with the latest casting news, and the insufferable man didn't even try to defend himself. He did it on purpose after all. At least he was honest and admitted to it being his deceiving plan from the start. Didn't he think it would have been good if he decided for honesty before Caroline was signed?
"How could you sign me to work with Niklaus Frigging Mikaelson of all people?" the blond actress threw her arms in the air out of frustration and rage.
"You said you were tired of being the blond distraction or the bombshell in the rom-coms, I just did what you asked," Elena defended her choice. She knew Tatia Petrova was the perfect role for Caroline at this point of her career. The actress was already labeled as the romantic comedy actress to go, but she knew her client could do much more than that. The people in the industry were already saying she was the next Katherine Heigl, and it only infuriated Caroline. The younger actress despised the comparison, not because she didn't like Katherine, but because she wanted much more than being America's sweetheart.
"Yes, and playing a dark, evil, cruel vampire is a welcomed breath of fresh air, as long as it doesn't include that junkie jerk!" the actress snorted. The role was everything she wanted and more, and she had been really excited about it since she was chosen to play Tatia, but two words and a name later she hated the world.
It wasn't fair that when she finally landed a part that was the opposite of everything she did in her career, she had to have a wrecked actor for her co-star. He was ruining her dream even before he stepped in the studio, and she already hated him for that. That is if he shows up at all. She could kill someone at that very moment, and she wouldn't even need resin fangs for that.
"I'm sorry, Care, I really am. Do you want me to check if I can get you out of the contract without it costing you hundreds of thousands?" Elena suggested, feeling really bad for her client, who was also her friend. The two of them had met early in their careers in Los Angeles, and the moment they became business partners a strong friendship between the two of them blossomed.
"I'm not giving my role up because of that scum! This is what I have worked hard for, even if it's television," the blond held one of her hands against her hip, fury coming from her in waves.
"If only he was just one of the supporting roles, but no, he's the protagonist. I'm supposed to be his queen of darkness!" Caroline continued her loud rant, her face becoming redder and redder.
"Actually you're supposed to bring light again into his dark life," Elena added, but Caroline ignored her.
"I should have been suspicious when they didn't tell who the main male character was or when they decided to name him Niklaus," the actress said, as she looked back at the information she had three months ago when they signed the contract.
"So you're still going to be Tatia?" Elena asked, not knowing if that was a good thing after all. She knew Caroline better than anyone else, and while the blond was the sweetest, kindest, least judgmental person the agent had ever met, she could also be a force to be reckoned with.
"Of course I am! But I'm also going to be Klaus Mikaelson's biggest nightmare. I may be America's latest sweetheart, but he's also about to learn a different side of me reserved only for big ass jerks like him. He won't know what hit him, metaphorically and if must, literally," Caroline said, before checking her watch.
"I'm going to meet Tyler. He took the day off to do his male shopping spree, but I need to see my husband, otherwise I'll kill someone with my bare hands, and Klaus Mikaelson is the first name on my hit list" she informed Elena, before she stormed out of the brunette's office the same way she busted in. In a blaze of fury.
AN: here is my feeble attempt at being funny and lighter. No much drama in this story, but I know I'll find a way to bring it in.
Please tell me I didn't embarrass myself (much) and leave me a review even if it's to let me know I shouldn't bring yet another Hollywood-based story. I've read some of them and I can assure you I have something else in mind for many reasons, but one of the main ones: this story will tell both Klaus' stories, the hybrid through the shooting of the series, and the human.
Some information I'm providing now: Caroline is married, but I don't write cheating. Klaus has a lot of daddy (and mommy) issues just like in the show. He also has an addiction problem with both alcohol and pills. There will be a lot of scenes from the miniseries, all of them will be in italic, because I want to tell his story as an hybrid. Niklaus and Tatia are married. Miniseries!Niklaus will be very in character with TV!Klaus. Stebekah is definitely coming, as for the rest of the ships, not sure. It'll probably have Delena as well. The miniseries will be shot in New Orleans.
I want to thank the wonderful, beautiful, amazing, extraordinaire, one and only mermaid Flora for being my beta for this. (and yeah, that's me fangirling all over).
Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries or The Originals or any of their characters.