A/n: So I know my last one-shot didn't go exactly as I wanted it to. I'm hoping this one is better. Everything I write seems mediocre compared to all the wonderful writers this fandom has! I've missed writing. It's summertime again which means I will have much more time to write and I'll need it to get me through the ridiculousness of that finale. I've kind of jumped ship. Don't get me wrong, I still like Forwood because I ship Caroline with everyone and everything, but Klaroline is just… it's just something else entirely. They've captured my soul. My apologies to my Forwood readers! Anyway. I'm a little rusty! Enjoy!
"What happened?" Elijah said as he tried to make sense of Stefan's words to Jeremy.
Caroline had heard them too. She heard the thickness in his voice. It was like he was a parent trying to assure a child that nothing bad would happen. "It's going to be fine." He said. "Klaus was lying." He said. "We're all going to be okay." But they weren't. He knew it and she knew what he meant when he had said those words. She just didn't want to believe them.
She knew this day would come though. She begged for the same reassurance that he had just given Jeremy but she knew he couldn't lie to her. He had always treated her like she was a big girl ever since she told him she could handle herself. And she can. So she called out his name and prepared for the worst. "Stefan?"
A week had passed. "I'm fine." She said repeatedly to her friends who called almost every 3 minutes. At 4 o'clock she stopped answering after the 13th call. At 5 o'clock she set her phone to vibrate after the 21st call. And eventually at 6 o'clock she had turned her phone off after the incessant vibrating of the 40th call and gently tucked it under her pillow.
It annoyed her to no end. Although she had to admit that she did the same thing after the accident on Wickery Bridge, and after the spell that was too much to handle for Shelia, and after Jenna became a playing piece in the sacrifice.
"He's gone." She whispered softly as she tucked herself in bed. She clutched the bracelet that he gave her on her birthday. She fiddled with the initials on the bracelet as the tears started to well up in her eyes.
She goes back to a time when things were easier. When she was dealing with her jerk of a father and Tyler was there for her. They had come to terms with his werewolf side, and they had accepted their feelings for one another. She goes back to this time. Before he had been turned into another mindless hybrid by Klaus.
Klaus.
She shouldn't have been thinking about him as much as she was. She knew it was wrong. Regardless though, she just couldn't stop.
She stopped fiddling with the bracelet when she saw it. Still sitting on her nightstand, a little wrinkled due to her crumbling it up over and over again. She could never push herself to really get rid of it. "Thank you for your honesty." It read. The gifts. The romantic drawings, and the expensive jewelry was all she had left of him. He was only a memory now. She had gotten rid of him just like she wanted. This was what you wanted. She had to keep reminding herself this but the little voice in the back of her mind kept saying otherwise. Not this. It said. Not this way.
She rolled her eyes and turned away from the drawing. Even in death he haunted her thoughts. But how could a woman really forget a man who offered her the world?
She hadn't moved in a week. She usually doesn't let herself sulk for this long. Her thoughts are normally full of optimism. "In spite of everything, we persevere!" She had once said triumphantly. She doesn't know how Elena does it. How Elena can get up after she's lost so many people. She doesn't know how Elena is so fine with her new fate. That brave and optimistic quality in her friend is something she admires greatly. Something she wants to achieve herself.
So she decides to try.
She wears the bracelet and gets up, grabbing her packed bag that is waiting for her by her bedroom door.
I'll be fine. I love you, Mom. ~Caroline. She dots her I's with hearts and folds it. It's a quick note but she knows that it says all she needs it to say.
She looks in the mirror one last time before she heads to the front door, running her fingers through her curls and then she turns her feet. Her hand rested on the cool doorknob and she closed her eyes. She turns the handle and keeps it open slightly ajar. She can't leave. She wants to so badly but she knows that she can't. Not without-
She sighs, annoyed and stomps back into her room like a child who has just been told that there aren't any cookies left. She stops at her nightstand and glares down at that wretched drawing. Despite her angry stance, her fingers pick up the drawing gracefully and she folds it neatly into a small square and stuffs it into her purse.
And that's when she leaves. She doesn't say goodbye to anyone. Not to Stefan, not to Matt, not to Bonnie, and not to Elena. And God she can't even bear to face Mrs. Lockwood anytime soon. She turns on her car and sets off to a new destination. One that will hopefully heal her.
She doesn't make it far though. She's only two states away in Maryland. A man hits on her in a bar in a small town called Hagerstown. She hates it here because it reminds her of Mystic Falls. The man throws a few pathetic lines at her and she still shows no interest. He grabs her ass as she gets up to leave and in an instant his head is pinned down on the counter. He struggles to get up. The fear and confusion of her strength is immediately placed in his eyes. She thinks of how Klaus would probably never allow this. He would have killed the man right then and there. But she's not Klaus. And she doesn't want to anything to do with him. So she slowly pours his drink all over his head. Compels him to forget her and she leaves this pitiful town.
It's 10 o'clock at night and she's waiting for a flight to New York. When she makes it there she wanders the city all day. Shopping and buying everything she pleases. She likes it here. She was supposed to run away with Tyler. She wasn't supposed to spend this time alone. She hopes that the next time she comes here, she'll be happy.
The next day she goes to The Museum of Modern Art. She spends the whole day there. She finds herself a bench and sits staring at her favorite piece in this entire place. It's a Monet. It's long and simple but she likes the simplicity.
"Caroline?" A voice she's grown very familiar with calls and she freezes. This isn't happening. The last thing she wants is to see anything or anyone that reminds her of him. The person sits down next to her and stares straight ahead.
After moments of silence Caroline finally decides to speak up. "They finally chased you out of town?" It's not mean. The way she asks is curious and her voice carries a little bit of pity. Caroline turns to look at Rebekah who keeps her eyes on the painting.
"Yes." She whispers. "Like Nik, I hoped the bloody town would soon become my home again." She turns to look at Caroline and watches how the mention of his name makes her cringe. "We were there first you know. Your friends, while I admire their bond, they can be very unforgiving."
Caroline nods. This is probably the most civil they'd ever been with each other. She relaxes and speaks. "So what brought you here?" She asks with a sigh.
"I always hated this city in the 20's. Nik always loved it though and I came to give it another chance." She smiles sadly at the ground. "My brother," Rebekah starts and Caroline looks away. "You know he was very fond of you. Sometimes I thought he was-" Caroline stands up abruptly causing Rebekah to stop midsentence.
"Stop." She whispers. "The last person I want to be thinking about is Klaus." She turns and starts walking off until Rebekah's words stop her.
"If that's true then why did you come to a museum of art?" Rebekah said accusingly, a little louder than necessary. "You know it was his passion." Caroline hears her heels click behind her as they make her way towards her.
She looks back at the painting and back to the ground. "He would have liked that." She says pointing back at the blue Monet.
Rebekah smiles and says softly. "Well it seems you do know a bit about him." They begin walking slowly next to each other, glancing silently at each painting they walk by. "Who would have thought the two of us would be looking at contemporary art in New York together?" Rebekah says after what seems like hours of silence.
Caroline laughs softly. "Never in a million years."
"He enjoyed his modern art. The abstract scenery and the portraits were the ones that always caught his eye though." She eyes Caroline carefully waiting for her to rush off.
She doesn't run though. She stays. She joins in on the conversation and although you can tell she feels a little guilty about talking about someone she should have hated, she doesn't run.
An hour has passed and it becomes too much for either of them to handle. They are still unsure of each other and it's still a little uncomfortable even though they now have a certain mutual respect for each other. At the front doors of the museum Rebekah grabs her arm before she walks away.
"Wait." She says calmly. She reaches into her purse and grabs a small stack of crumbled up pieces of paper that have been folded together. Caroline eyes her carefully and begins to pull away but Rebekahs grip tightens to the point where her arm starts to bruise. She knows what they are. She knows they were important to him and she knows that she wants them. But she also knows that she shouldn't want them. "I think Niklaus would want you to have these."
Rebekah pulls Caroline's hand and forcefully opens her palm placing the folded papers there. She's reluctant at first but after a few moments of hesitation she closes her palm and throws them in her purse. She doesn't want to look at them. Not yet at least. Not in front of Rebekah. She's not sure how she'll react and she doesn't want anyone to see.
She unconsciously smiles and Rebekah smiles in return. "I'll see you around?" Caroline asks.
"Perhaps." Rebekah replies simply. She starts to turn but pauses. "Your friends miss you, you know that right?" And without another word she's gone in a flash.
She looks at the spot that was just vacated and stares ahead at the large silver building. She's right. The voice tells her. She rolls her eyes and groans hating the condescending tone of her conscience. A cab pulls up in front of her and she hops in and goes straight back to her hotel. Her usual routine had been sightseeing then shopping but the shopping would have to wait just this once.
Creaking floors. That's all she notices as she's pacing in her hotel room. She already knows her next destination and it's not in her plan. She tears up and tosses her ticket to Paris and mentally prepares herself for her next destination.
Home.
A/n: So I know this is really short. I had originally planned to make this a one shot and a lot longer but I wanted to see what you guys thought of it first. It will probably only be a two part fic. I don't know. What do you think? I kind of like how this one turned out so far. It's a lot better than my last one-shot. (Maybe because I actually have a plan for this one.) But towards the end I got a little sloppy. I was in such a good writing mood when I wrote the first half but some unexpected circumstances pulled me away from my laptop. But yeah tell me what you guys think! Click the little blue box below and Review! 3
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