Ever since the Originals promo came out after "Pictures of You", I've been obsessed with the Fall Out Boy song "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)". The more I listened to it, the more I realized how it fits with Klaus and his nature/personality. Also, as I listened to it a short drabble (or video highlight) kept coming up in my head and a whole story began to form. This is my first attempt at a fanfic and obviously am a HUGE Klaroline fan. I try to stay true to canon, even though I love reading off-canon stories, but nothing is better than canon we want/need to happen. Please review and I hope you enjoy it! I'll update as my time as allows it, but thankfully all I have to do is listen to the Fall Out Boy song to know where I want to go with this story. Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.
Caroline stepped out of the cab at the corner of Canal and Bourbon street and looked around in awe at the sight before her. No longer was she in sleepy Mystic Falls, but the bustling metropolis of New Orleans and she felt a distinct thrill travel up her spine as she spun around drinking in the details. She'd never been outside of Mystic Falls before and this was her first foray into the world, alone no less. As a vampire, Caroline felt safer than most seventeen year old girls on her own, but she still felt a sense of apprehension at the change. How was she to know what lay ahead in New Orleans? She knew from Stefan that the city itself was overrun with vampires and she'd heard through various rumors that one of them had unofficially declared himself king and taken control of the city as no vampire had ever dared to do so before in a large metropolitan area. Said king was also rumored to be a protege of the Original big bad himself, but Caroline was trying not to focus on that; she didn't want to be reminded of a certain hybrid's darker days.
It had been five years since Klaus had left Mystic Falls for New Orleans and everyone had breathed a collective sigh of relief at his departure. No longer were Klaus's violent mood swings a focal point of everyone's concern and life had moved on in Mystic Falls. Like everyone else, Caroline had also been relieved to hear of the hybrid's departure, but a tiny part of her heart kept telling her that something was missing in her life since Klaus left. She attributed it to the fact that she and Klaus had had a confrontation of sorts before he left and things were left unfinished between them.
Klaus returned to Mystic Falls briefly after his first trip to New Orleans to discover more information on the lead Katherine had given him regarding a certain witch's plot against him. Klaus arrived in New Orleans to find that his protege Marcel had taken the city over completely, driven out the werewolves, and placed rules on the practicing witches in town, giving the vampires free reign. He also learned that his one night stand with Hayley resulted in a freak of nature pregnancy that had the witches up in arms at the thought that this child would be their savior from Marcel's cruel and harsh world. Klaus was furious at first at the thought of Hayley bringing his child into the world, when the night had been a vent of frustrations for the both of them, and wanted nothing more than to erase the permanence this child would create of that night. But Elijah managed to convince Klaus the baby would bring them together as a family as they'd never been able to before and Klaus made the decision to move back to New Orleans. Right before his return to Mystic Falls, Klaus had called Caroline and left a voice message:
"Caroline, I'm standing in one of my favorite places in the world... Surrounded by food, music, art, culture. And all I can think about is how much I want to show it to you. Maybe one day you'll let me."
She had re-played that message over and over again and could never bring herself to delete it. Hearing the longing and desire in his voice for her company, even when he was so far way, drove the tiny inkling Caroline had in her heart that maybe Klaus wasn't the villain they all portrayed them to be. She remembered what Stefan had said to her about Klaus being lonely at the heart of it all, and Caroline wondered if that was enough to forgive someone for the horrible things he'd done.
"Anyone who is capable of love is capable of being saved."
Caroline wanted to believe that of Klaus and his message had given her a glimmer of hope that maybe it was possible to bring him out of the darkness. She knew she shouldn't continue asking herself whether Klaus was savable or not, especially considering Tyler was still banned from Mystic Falls for an indefinite time period and everything Klaus had done to drive him away in the first place, but something about Klaus's persistence and attraction to her kept Caroline waiting in anticipation for his next move. She knew it was wrong to let herself be attracted to someone so horrible, but Klaus's message once again showed her a very vulnerable side to the Original hybrid. When they met up with one another shortly after Klaus's return, Caroline went in with a far more open mind to the hybrid that she'd ever had before.
"So where'd you go that caused you to think of me?" Caroline asked as soon as she saw him.
"New Orleans. My family's hometown more or less. I had some business to attend to and I was thinking of the promise I had made you a while ago to show you the world. I thought to myself, what better place to start than a city I helped build."
"What was your business in New Orleans?"
"A witch supposedly was trying to plot against me, but it seems she has far greater aspirations than my downfall. I give her credit for drawing my attention, though. I will be returning to New Orleans for the unforeseeable future."
"So why come back to Mystic Falls at all?"
" I have some unfinished business here."
During this exchange, Klaus had been slowly moving towards Caroline, until he was inches away from her. She could feel her dead heart increasing its tempo as Klaus drew nearer, but Caroline tried to remain as impassive as possible.
"What is so importa..." Caroline began to ask before Klaus's phone went off.
"Sorry, love. It's Elijah. Family first." Klaus said as he checked the caller ID. He walked away a bit before picking up the line but not far enough that Caroline couldn't here the resulting conversation.
"When are you coming back?"
"Soon, brother. I need to wrap up things here in Mystic Falls before heading south again."
"You must be referring Caroline. Are you going to tell her about Hay..."
"Elijah, not now."
At the brief mention of the werewolf's name, Caroline's ears perked up and she looked at Klaus intently. He looked back and saw she was watching him, sighed and said, "Elijah, I'll call you when I'm finished here."
He hung up the phone and walked back to the spot where Caroline stood standing. There was a tension in her that hadn't been there before the phone call. This was not the way he had envisioned telling her, but how do you tell the woman you're infatuated with that you've gone and got someone she dislikes with her whole being pregnant.
"Hayley's in New Orleans now? Well, good riddance. But why does Elijah care about her? It's not like she's got anything to do with your family."
"As much as I wish I could say she has nothing to do with my family, I'm afraid that's the complete opposite as of now. She has everything do with my family now."
"What? How? Is Elijah now into her? I thought he and Katherine were at it, not that I care, but Hayley's a step down for Elijah, don't you..."
"Caroline. Stop. Please. This is already difficult for me to say." Klaus looked into her eyes, took a deep breath and began, "I... I... Hayley's pregnant. With my child. And my busine..."
"WAIT... WHAT?! HAYLEY'S PREGNANT?! How is that possible? You're dead!"
"Some loophole in nature. It's not my first choice either..."
"Hold the phone... I need to rewind now, because Hayley pregnant with your child means... YOU SLEPT WITH HER. WHEN?"
"A few week ago... We were both venting our frustrations..."
" I don't need to know the reason why. You slept with her! I can't believe you Klaus. You go to New Orleans, find out you knocked up a were-slut with some freaky, nature loophole and you STILL HAVE THE NERVE TO CALL ME AND TELL ME YOU WANT ME AT YOUR SIDE."
"Caroline, if there is one thing I am deadly serious about it's that I wish this had never happened. But I can't change that now. I wanted the child and Hayley dead..." Klaus voice echoed his frustration at the matter. Anyone other than Caroline would have back away in fear.
"Oh, because that makes up for everything. Kill the problem. Doesn't fix the fact that you still SLEPT WITH HER. You know how I feel about her and after everything she's done..."
"WHY DO YOU CARE?!" Klaus roared. "It's not like you've ever given me the time. Caroline, you know I desire you and want nothing more than to show you the world and give you everything to make you happy. But you're still too caught up with Tyler to see all that I can offer you. You have no right to care who I sleep with because we are not together, nor have we ever been together and as far as I know, you despise me. You think I'm a horrible, murderous monst..."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
"I'm sorry?" Klaus's voice had taken on a deadly soft edge and he started advancing on Caroline. She couldn't hold her ground any more and felt herself backing away from Klaus. "What's not true? You've said so yourself that I am a horrible person. You've seen what I've done. I killed twelve of my own hybrids for breaking their sire bond, driven Tyler out of this godforsaken town more time than I care to count and killed his own mother as revenge for trying to kill me. I've hurt your friends and the people you care about more times than I can count. According to you, for my actions, I am a horrible person. And yet, you say it's not true? Tell me, what's not true, Caroline?"
"I... I... don't use my words against me!"
"By all means, love, why shouldn't I? You scream and rage at me for sleeping with another girl when you've never given me anything but rejection. A bit hypocritical I would say. Is this jealousy I smell, Caroline?"
"No! No... I don't know!"
"Well you'd better make up your mind. I meant what I said in that voice message and every other time I've offered. I want to show you the world. I want to show you genuine beauty. Hayley means nothing to me and has never meant anything to me. I came back to Mystic Falls to ask you to come to New Orleans with me. I'm going to need people by my side who I can trust. My family. And you. One of the reasons I cannot let go of you is because you cannot let go of me. I see it in you Caroline. Even after I've done something horrific and you look at me with disgust in your eyes, there's a small part of you that won't shut me out. It's why you keep letting me back in. Come with me, Caroline."
"I... I can't. Not after this." Caroline's voice shook. All her righteous anger had disappeared as Klaus threw the facts back in her face. She shouldn't care and had no right to. He was right. But, a small part of her was screaming... NO! This isn't right. Klaus is YOURS. He's offered you everything. Hayley has no claim to him. You have every right to be upset. She was backed up against a tree, with tears streaming down her face as she battled with herself internally. She wanted to go to New Orleans with him and take him up on his offer to see the world. But after finding out about Hayley, Caroline couldn't bring herself to look at Klaus, much less go to New Orleans with him.
"I'm sorry, Caroline. I truly am," Klaus said softly. Caroline looked up into his eyes at his gentle tone. There was deep sadness in them and she desperately wanted to reach her hand up to his cheek and take that sadness out. Klaus must have seen something in her eyes, because some of the sadness disappeared and he lightly clasped her shoulder. "I said it once, Caroline and I will say it again. Small town life is not for you. I will wait for you. Whether it be a year from now, five years from now, or even a century and more. I will wait for you to show up at my doorstep and accept my offer. I promise you."
Caroline said nothing. Likely because she knew that at some point she would end up on his doorstep, thirsting for knowledge of the world outside Mystic Falls, Virginia. So she just looked at him until he sighed and gave a soft smile. "I wish you nothing but happiness. And I hope to see you one day. Until then, farewell Caroline."
And with that Klaus was gone.
Caroline had replayed that scene over and over again in her mind during the past five years. And every time she wished she could have reacted differently. She told herself she was justified in her anger at Klaus for sleeping with Hayley, and even more so for the baby! But, the rational part of her knew her anger was worthless. Klaus had been right. She'd never given him anything but rejection; except in the weeks after she killed the twelve witches, when Klaus had reached out to her for help against Silas and he had shyly asked for her friendship after. After that, a small truce had existed between them and Caroline felt herself fighting her attraction to Klaus more and more. It was after Klaus had slept with Hayley (and admitted it to Caroline), that she realized she cared more deeply for this scarred hybrid than she ever thought possible.
Graduation in Mystic Falls came and went. Silas had tried to open the veil, but they had all rallied together in the last possible seconds to destroy both Silas and the veil. After that, life settled back into a normal existence, except instead of going back to Mystic Falls High that fall, everyone dispersed to various colleges for their freshmen year. Caroline went to the University of Virginia on scholarship, joined a sorority, majored in Communications and graduated in four years without so much as a hint of supernatural activity. But all the while, she thought of Klaus and his life in New Orleans, and she found that as time wore on, she wanted to see the Original hybrid once again. Caroline had kept in touch with Stefan throughout her four years at college and through him (by way of Rebekah) she knew a little of Klaus's actions and movements in New Orleans.
After graduation she went home to Mystic Falls to spend time with her mother and enjoy home a little while longer before setting out alone to see the world. She knew she couldn't remain in Mystic Falls for much longer as everyone around would continue to age and she would remain seventeen forever. One day, her mother took her aside and laid out a portfolio in front of her. "What's this?"
"Money left behind for you from your father." Liz Forbes replied. "When you were born he put a small amount in the bank and began to add to it every year on major occasions. Your birthday, Christmas, etc. After he had a nice lump sum, he began to invest it so that you would have a way to pay for college and have some money under your belt after graduation. Because of your scholarship, none of the money was touched and it's only continued to grow. I know you're going to leave soon, so I wanted you to have this. And I know your father would want you to have it. He's invested the money wisely, so you'll have a steady return for a long time. He also took care of your "aging" problem, as he liked to call it. You'll always have the best financial advisors in the country who are sworn to secrecy and will keep your money safe for years to come."
Caroline started crying at the gift left to her by her father. For all that he had done to her when he'd found out she was a vampire, he still loved her enough to make sure she was cared for even after he was gone. She hugged her mom tightly and looked over the portfolio to give herself a better understanding of her own financial independence. With the gift left to her by her father, Caroline knew it was time she head south to New Orleans.
As she stood on the corner of Canal and Bourbon, Caroline reflected back on the past five years and knew she was in a better place now than when Klaus had originally asked her to join him. She needed the five years to really put her life into perspective and find out what she truly wanted. Caroline laughed to herself at the thought that it took a pregnant Hayley and five years for her to come to the conclusion that she wanted to see exactly what Klaus was offering to her. She wasn't sure yet what would come of that curiosity, but she was willing to find out. She slung her small duffel over her shoulder and slowly made her way down Bourbon Street.