Anchor
Caroline's heels reverberated pointedly on the wooden floor as she strode towards him. He was leaning leisurely against one of the many arches in the room, arms crossed and a lazy smirk painted across his lips. If not for his above super-human abilities, she might have felt the urge to slap him. But then, she always felt the urge to throttle him.
At her approach, he stood of his own volition and smiled.
"Ah, Caroline – to what do I owe this pleasure? I believe you've already seen enough of me tonight, or at least that's what you said a short time ago," Klaus said, taking in the sight of her. She was still wearing the beautiful pearl coloured dress and heels. If not for the scowl tinting her features, he might call her immaculate – but if he was honest, he still thought she was immaculate even with the indignant expression.
"What did you say to him?" she demanded, her eyes narrowed with anger. The man cocked his head to the side, unsure as to her train of thought. Usually when someone accused him of something, he could pinpoint the origin – because nine times out of ten they were rightfully condemning him.
"To whom did I speak?" Klaus asked, genuinely curious. Caroline kept her eyes on him for a moment longer, trying to divulge whether he was being honest or sarcastic. Leaning back on her heels she raised her eyebrows.
"You didn't know Tyler was here?" she asked, the allegation in her voice was almost palpable.
He frowned and replied, "You forget that I promised to kill him should I ever cross him." Klaus paused, narrowing his eyes "Why should I have spoken to him?"
Caroline frowned slightly, tucking a twine of hair behind her ear. She looked away from his face to her right, out of one of the large windows that adorned every room of his mansion. He waited patiently for her to answer and seemed unfazed by the silence that cascaded down upon them.
"He… left. He came to the Prom to let me know that… that things…" she looked back at him and her brow creased even deeper, "you know what? I don't have to tell you this. My Senior Prom was a disaster, my best friend is an evil vampire bitch, my boyfriend left and I don't need you giving me that smug look – I'm going home."
The young woman turned around to storm away, her dress flaying delicately as she spun.
"Caroline," Klaus chided from where he was still standing, "Caroline." She ignored him, continuing her stride to the door. He sighed, quite loudly too, and began walking towards her. She could hear his footsteps as he approached her, the distance between them closing. He was halfway to her when she opened the door from whence she had come just minutes ago.
Caroline gasped as she nearly ran into someone and looked up to see who it was. From behind her, she could hear as Klaus abruptly stopped walking. She didn't have to look behind her to see that he was staring at the person in the doorway. The man in front of her was familiar but he was also dead – she knew this to be true, unless the original blonde vampire had lied.
His eyes landed on hers and the smile that lit his face was merciless. Caroline took a step back, purposefully trying to inch closer to the original vampire behind her. It was a stupid notion but she felt safer when she was near him – and it had nothing to do with his almost-invincibility.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, attempting to sound valiant. The dark-haired man took a measured step towards her, his smile broadening.
"I came to deliver a message to your friend," he said, biting the last word and staring behind her. Caroline turned to face Klaus who visibly stiffened under the other man's scrutiny. His footsteps echoed menacingly as he passed her and walked to stand in front of the hybrid. As she studied the handsome face that was currently marred by muted anxiety, she remembered the other day when he had been clawing at his back.
This man, who possessed only one weakness, had been all but crippled by the immortal currently standing in front of him. He had been manipulated to the point of believing his imminent death. He, who was the strongest of them all, had been vulnerable to the mental onslaught.
Knowing this, fear gripped Caroline like a vice as she struggled to keep a hold on herself. She didn't move from the spot where she watched Silas eye down Klaus, too afraid of what might befall her if she did.
"I told you just the other day that I would bring you misery if you delayed that which I asked you to bring to me," the immortal said, dangerously pleasant in his tone. The hybrid kept his eyes glued to the man in front of him.
"I'm not one to use the same trick twice, so don't fret. I'm not going to stab you again," Silas said, smiling sweetly. Klaus glanced at Caroline once, worry flashing in his eyes. She inched back slightly, impending fear thickening the air. It took but a second for them both to realise the implication of his words, and a second more for him send the original vampire into a wall.
The immortal turned to her, eyes alight with sadistic glee. The blonde vampire stumbled backwards, aware that running would do no good if this thing was able to impale the most powerful hybrid. Silas continued to stride forward until he was a mere inch from her.
"Sorry about this, but I need to send a message," he said.
And then, for a terrifying moment, there was nothing. But then, there was pain. Caroline's knees gave way as she cried out a terrible blood-curdling scream and fell to the floor. Her pearl dress rippled as she dropped like a diamond from a chandelier. Through watery eyes, she saw the immortal leave but the pain did not disperse with his departure. In fact, it became worse.
The feeling wasn't palpable, simply a churning in her bones, a tearing in her muscles, a constriction of her heart. Her blonde hair escaped some of its intricate braiding as she landed with a harsh thud onto the wooden floor.
Caroline kept her eyes shut, trying to control herself as the pain wracked her body. Suddenly there was a presence next to her, picking her up and then dropping her onto a soft surface. She forced herself to open her eyes amidst the maelstrom of agony and was greeted with the intensely alarmed face of Klaus.
"Caroline, what is it?" he asked rapidly, aware that she was focused on him. He brushed some hair from her face as she bit back the cry that wanted to escape her mouth. She rolled onto her side, breathing heavy, and tried to hiss out the cause of her distress.
"Sss – ssaaa…" the word was lost as another wave of pain washed over her body. Klaus gripped her arms and forced her onto her back, staring into her eyes as he asked again. Caroline concentrated her effort into the one word, all but screaming it out in a short burst of breath.
"Silas!" she yelled, and immediately his face darkened. He took a second to gather himself before he pulled her into a sitting position, leaning her against the headboard of the bed she was evidently situated on. The blonde vampire tried to curl over, thinking it might subdue the internal fire quelling her body. He stopped her though and the semi-growl that escaped her lips was a frightening indicator of the degree with which it was affecting her.
"Caroline, you need to focus on something else. Don't think about the pain," he said, holding her eyes with his. She stared into them through the inescapable haze of suffering, aware of the emotion residing there. Tears began to form against her will.
"I – can't," Caroline sobbed between great heaving gasps, "I – c-can't."
Klaus gripped her shoulders tightly, almost painfully, and leaned in closer, "Yes, you can. Come on, Caroline. Focus!" His voice rose with the desperation he felt, her temperament having more of an effect on him than he would like.
The tears spilled from her eyes and she closed them in an attempt to do what he said. But every time her thoughts strayed even the slightest bit from the already bone-crushing internal torture, a new wave would arrive and eclipse the last.
Caroline heaved with the strain it was putting her under and shoved herself back against the wooden headboard, a resounding snap indicating she'd cracked it.
"Kill me… Klaus, please," she said, looking at him through bulging eyes, "kill –me." Another wave sent her crashing to the side, with the man beside her as her only anchor. He grasped her hand tightly and a sound that was reminiscent of a sob escaped his throat. She had only heard it once before, when she had told him he could be saved.
"Caroline, please just think about something else. Focus on something… focus on my voice," Klaus suggested, dragging her up so she was against the headboard again. Her fingers found their way into her hair, wringing through it frantically as she rocked back and forth.
"Focus on my voice," he said again, trying to keep his voice smooth. Caroline squinted her eyes shut and bit her lip, compiling all of her effort to focus on the smooth accented voice flowing into her ears. He said the words over and over and she could feel herself distancing from the pain.
Her rocking became less disjointed and she raised her head, eyebrows drawn in a frown as she tried wholeheartedly to dispel the forceful sensations from her body. But, like a tsunami crashing down, the pain renewed itself in a whirlwind attack. Caroline cried out in pain, tears streaming from her eyes as she looked at Klaus. His previously hopeful face was suddenly alight with distress as he watched her sob in agony.
Overwhelmed, the original vampire put his hands on either side of her pale face and steadied her momentarily as he leaned in. She felt as his weight shifted on the bed and her mind was abruptly pinpoint clear as his lips met hers. Klaus held them like that for a moment, savouring the kiss and the stillness that resulted. When he finally pulled back, Caroline opened her eyes. All of the pain was gone and now all she felt was the cool air on her damp sweaty skin and his body heat beside her on the bed.
She blinked a couple of times, waiting for the torture to return. But it didn't. The hybrid looked just as surprised, studying her face intently as the silence cascaded down upon them.
"You –" her words were cut off as he leant in again and kissed her. This time when their lips met, it was harsher; a sense of longing and hunger evident beneath the movement of his mouth. She responded automatically, sitting forward on the bed and moving in synchronisation with him. The kiss was salty, tasting of the tears that had previously been running down her face.
Klaus was the one to pull away, looking at her with concentration. Caroline didn't speak, simply tried to regain her breath as he stared at her. She didn't know what to say and yet she needed to say something. She couldn't just sit on his bed forever and she sure as hell couldn't stay the night.
Swinging her legs around, the blonde stood up from the bed. She was barefoot and the carpet on the floor was soft beneath her feet. It was these tiny details of their first kiss that would remain with her until the day she finally gave in to his charms. But she didn't know that, so she subconsciously filed away the sensations for future brooding.
The silence was growing too thick and he was still looking at her with that strange awe-inspired expression. Caroline tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at him sincerely.
"Thank you," she said, unsure anything else would suffice.
Her words seemed to snap him back to his usual bravado as he stood from the bed, a smile tilting the set of his lips. Klaus nodded leisurely.
"Any time, love," he replied. The blonde vampire bit back a smile and nodded, moving quickly to the door of the bedroom. She grasped the handle firmly and opened it, turning around once before leaving.
"Really… thank you," Caroline said. She didn't wait for his response, instead choosing to quickly collect her heels from where she had collapsed and leave.
It wasn't until many years later that she recognised the significance of that night. It would take her years of dry humour and subtle prompts to identify the feelings that blossomed with that first kiss; the kiss that was ultimately the only thing capable of distracting her from her own misery. He would become the only person capable of saving her, the only person capable of evoking the intense feelings she'd never wanted to feel. The feelings of familiarity and affection, the feelings that would intensify to represent what she'd feared experiencing from the moment she met him – love.