"Til there's no way to know where you end and where I begin"
Klaus strode quickly down the damp street, his long, dark coat making swishing noises with every step he took. He glanced over his shoulder every so often and then quickly sped up. He saw the lightning flash and heard the thunder roll, which masked the thudding footsteps coming up behind him. At the last second, he turned and saw his attackers. Five hulking men were behind him, covered with huge tattoos, painful piercings, and were definitely armed. He recognized four out of the five men and knew they weren't always pleasant company, so he began running. That's when the sky decided it wanted to be a tsunami today.
As the rain pounded on the sidewalk, Klaus sprinted away so fast that he could feel his feet blistering and burning. These men had come to collect, but he had nothing to give. Their most viable option was to beat his payment out of him. The thought of the coming pain was what drove Klaus to keep going faster. He turned left down an alley and began climbing on top of dumpsters, trying to reach the pull-down ladder for a fire escape. He leapt and his fingers barely grazed the bottom rung. Reevaluating his plan, he began running again, turning miscellaneously. Every time he thought he had possibly lost them, a dog would bark or he would run into a trashcan and send it clanging to the ground, giving away his location.
Klaus had been running a never ending maze for about fifteen minutes when he came to a fence that formed a dead end. Seeing no other option, he decided to jump it. He expected it to be like he was in a James Bond movie and he would just fly over it with ease, but no such luck. The fence was easier than the ladder, but it still slowed him down, especially when his shirt snapped him back, not quite ready to let go of the chains yet.
Finally freeing himself, Klaus could hear thudding steps gaining on him. He spotted a door that wasn't fully closed and decided to go for it. He whipped it open and threw himself in with as much force as he could muster, slamming the door behind him.
As Klaus panted and leaned against the door, he heard a screech, "Hey! Watch it!"
He tried to catch his breath and replied, "Sorry, love, didn't know you were there."
She slid her hands onto her hips and that's when Klaus noticed what she was wearing, or rather, what she wasn't wearing. You could see pretty much everything on this blonde's perfect body and she had quite a bit of body glitter. "Have I just entered a strip joint? Or do you dress like that for fun?" he inquired of the beautiful, though overdone, girl in front of him. Immediately he could tell he had upset her, but before he could save himself, she started yelling at him.
"You have no right to judge me, my choice of profession in no way indicates my character or intellect. Stupid student loans, I'd be living fine without those sneaking up on me all the time. And, I mean, who is really proud of the job they have right out of college? Because point me in that direction-"
"Whoa, whoa!" Klaus interjected, "Slow down! I wasn't judging you; I just didn't know where I was. Trust me, I'm the last person who should be judging people based on their profession."
"Sorry, I'm a little stressed if you couldn't tell," the girl mumbled in response.
"No worries, sweetheart. You wouldn't happen to have a towel? It's a bit chilly in here," he said, shivering.
"We should have some somewhere, but customers aren't allowed back here, so you've either got to pay to watch the show or leave," she said with scooting motion of her hand.
"What if I'm not a customer? Can I sit back here then? Because I have absolutely no money and there's no way I'm going back out in that mess of weather. Plus, as you might have presumed, I was being pursued, and I'd prefer not to face my attackers, " he replied with a hopeful look on his face.
The girl groaned, "Seriously?" She watched him for a moment as he shrugged while presenting his empty hands to her. "Ugh, well, I guess you could stay back here as my guest… but only for a little while. The boss doesn't take lightly to freeloaders. And I need this job."
"Thank you, love. I promise not to get you fired," Klaus said as he slowly walked, hoping his shoes would squish as little as possible, then seated himself in a glittery pink version of a set chair, praying none of the sparkles would stick to his clothes.
The girl smiled to herself upon seeing his caution and concern about the glitter, then turned to go when he suddenly called after her, "Wait!"
She turned back to him as her arms slid to cross her chest and her bemused smile turned down with a hint of frustration. She raised her eyebrows and waited for his next request.
"What's your name? I need to know who's guest I am if someone asks," Klaus said while simply smiling to show his appreciation.
She boldly walked over to him and stuck out her hand for him to shake. He clasped his hand in hers and shook as she replied, "If someone asks, you're here with Chastity. Other than that, I am Caroline Forbes."
"A lovely name for a lovely woman," he replied with a small smile as he released her hand.
"And you are…?" she asked when he didn't immediately offer up the information.
"I am Klaus, but you may call me Nik if you prefer."
"Okay, Nik, I'll be back in about a half hour. Try not to break anything or stare at anyone excessively, kay?" Caroline said as she walked toward the stage.
While Caroline was doing her job, Klaus took it upon himself to peruse her station to learn more about her. Around her lighted mirror a few pictures were taped up, but not nearly as many as around her coworker's. There was a photo of Caroline with two dark-haired girls, probably twins, who appeared to work here with her. A different picture portrayed a tiny dog staring at the camera, tilting its head as though it was confused. The final picture was just Caroline's face, but she had obviously ripped the other person out of the picture. Caroline's cell phone was also on the table, but he knew better than to so blatantly invade her privacy. As he continued making his way through glitter and hair spray, one of the dark haired girls from the picture approached him.
"Excuse me, what are you doing here? Customers aren't allowed back here," the girl said.
"I am a guest of Chastity's; she said I could wait for her here," Klaus calmly replied.
She quickly raised her eyebrows and tilted her head before moving to her seat and reapplying mascara.
No longer alone, Klaus felt slightly more uncomfortable looking through Caroline's belongings, so he sat quietly, staring at his hands.
A while later, the clacking of heels made Klaus turn his head to find Caroline pulling cash from her cleavage.
"Good haul tonight?" Klaus asked.
"I've had better, I've had worse. The best part is that now I get to leave," she said while jumping up and down, shimmying into her jeans. Sliding on her coat, she asked, "Aren't you coming?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Klaus said, hurrying after her.
Outside, the rain had stopped, but thunder threatened its return, so the two hurried into the nearest coffee shop. As soon as they entered, an employee yelled, "We are closing in two minutes. Please leave now so I can too."
Caroline groaned and yelled, "You are so not getting a tip next time, Johnny." She grabbed Klaus's hand and pulled him after her through the door.
In the second they had been inside, the rain had started up again, so Caroline told Klaus to follow her as they ran down the street. After a few blocks, they ducked into the lobby of Caroline's apartment building. Looking at Klaus, she sighed, "Oh gosh, you're completely soaked through. Look, if you swear you're not a serial killer, you can come up to my apartment and dry off. But you have to promise," as she held out her pinky.
He entwined his pinky with hers and said, "I promise I'm not a serial killer."
"Okay, fantastic. I'm freezing, let's go," Caroline said as she pushed the elevator button and shivered.
Once they stepped into the elevator, Klaus rubbed his hands up and down Caroline's arms, trying to warm her up. She gave him a look that he didn't entirely understand. Her gratitude was slightly masked by her confusion and surprise. He just smiled down at her and she shyly returned the gesture.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, so the pair hurried down the hall. Caroline fumbled her keys a couple of times before she finally unlocked the door and the two hurried inside to kick off their shoes and shrug out of their jackets. As Klaus whipped off his sopping wet t-shirt, Caroline glanced up at him and gasped.
Klaus, surprised, asked, "What?"
"Oh, um, nothing. I'll go grab you a towel and some of my ex-boyfriend's clothes. They might be a little small on you, but they'll fit better than my clothes," Caroline laughed as she mentally fanned herself. His abs were causing her to have a bit of a freak out. She handed him the clothes and tried not to stare, or at least let him see that she was staring. Though, judging from his amused and triumphant grin, he noticed.
"So, I'm going to go change real quick and throw our clothes in the dryer. Make yourself at home."
Caroline changed into her pajamas and noticed the mascara smeared down her face when she glanced in the bathroom mirror. Sighing as she turned on the faucet, she began grumbling about her job and the inordinate amount of makeup and sparkles involved with it. Right before every smear of makeup was removed from her face, Caroline heard a high pitched yipping which meant Mojito had found their house guest. She grumbled "Shit!" and ran back into her living room.
Klaus had tilted his head in confusion as he stared at the small puffball growling at his feet.
Caroline hustled over and scooped up her tiny dog saying, "I'm so sorry. She thinks she's actually a rottweiler that could protect me from intruders."
Klaus chuckled, then was stunned by her face. He knew she was pretty, but now without all of her makeup, he could see that she was absolutely gorgeous. There was just one smudge of black on her temple, so he lifted his thumb to her face to brush off the remnants. Caroline stared into his blue eyes as they shifted from her cheek to her eyes. They held each others' gaze for a moment, then he quickly glanced to her lips before returning to her eyes, almost questioning, as he slowly inched toward her face. She slightly moved forward before rapidly turning away and breaking eye contact.
She placed Mojito in her bed and, now a few feet away from Klaus, she turned back to him and asked, "Do you have anywhere to stay tonight? If you don't, you can stay here, since you already promised you weren't a serial killer and whatnot."
"That'd be lovely, sweetheart, but only as long as I'm not putting you out," Klaus replied, reverting back to the manners his mother had taught him as he tried to calm down his breathing and heart rate.
"Don't be silly, I'm not put out at all. Mojito might not be overly fond of the idea, but she can get over it," Caroline smiled.
"Wait, is your dog's name legitimately Mojito?" Klaus asked, slightly shocked.
"Yeah, she looks like a Mojito, don't ya think?"
Klaus laughed and said, "Well, I guess if any dog deserved the name, it would be this one." He extended his hand to show the dog he wasn't going to hurt her, but she just growled.
"Sorry, she's probably just grumpy because it's so late. I'm sure she'll like you more in the morning," Caroline said as she pet the dog's soft ears.
"Speaking of the lateness of the hour, I assume the couch is my bed for the night?" Klaus asked as he sat down.
"Yeah, I'll go grab you some blankets and stuff. I'm a little amped and I'll be awake for a little while longer so if you need anything, just let me know," she said as she jumped for the blankets on the top shelf of the closet. Seeing her struggle, Klaus stood and walked up behind her saying, "Allow me."
Both still standing in the doorway of the shallow closet, the pair was very close. Klaus didn't seem to notice, intent on reaching the blankets, but Caroline sure did. She observed the way his bicep flexed as he lifted the first blanket, his strong forearm easily transferring the pillow down, and how his extended arm made his shirt rise to expose an inch or two of the smooth, tan, muscular stomach.
Her mind quickly jumped to the beautifully horrible things they could do right here, right now, and the thoughts were so obscene they made her blush. Trying to hide her embarrassment, Caroline slipped out of the doorway and asked Klaus if he wanted anything to drink.
Escaping to the kitchen area, Caroline took deep breaths as she filled up two glasses of water. You don't even know this guy she thought. And you promised yourself you'd be single for a while after the Tyler incident, remember? The devilish side of her conscience chose that moment to speak it's mind. One roll in the hay doesn't make you in a relationship! You need a rebound! The more conscientious conscience argued You don't do that. Don't start now.
Caroline's mental voice broke through the quarreling voices in her mind as she walked back into the living room. Both of you shut up. I'll do what and who I want when I want, you have no say in the matter!
"Thank you, sweetheart," Klaus said as she handed him the glass.
Pulled out of her inner argument, Caroline nodded.
"So, if you are planning on being up a little while longer, what do you say you stay up with me and we watch t.v. or something? I'm not particularly tired yet," Klaus suggested, even though his muscles were crying from the earlier pursuit, the kind of pain that could only stop through sleep.
"Oh, sure," Caroline replied as she grabbed the remote and carefully sat in the small space left on the couch, curling in her legs and getting comfortable.
Klaus slowly opened his eyes , sensing the sunlight streaming in from the windows. Noticing his surroundings, he found Caroline laying half on him, half on the remaining space of the couch, sound asleep. Her legs was intertwined with his and her hands gripped his shirt as if she was aware of how precarious her position was.
He heard a quiet knock at the door and when Caroline didn't stir, he carefully maneuvered her into his position and slid off the couch.
Still in a sleepy daze, Klaus opened the door without thinking about the fact that it wasn't his house and he only vaguely recognized the girl through the peep hole.
The girl gasped the second she saw him and pushed past him without saying anything. Storming down the hall, the girl yelled, "Caroline, you'd better wake the fuck up because you have so much explaining to do!"
"Well, good morning to you too," Klaus mumbled under his breath as he closed the door.
Coming back into the living room, he saw the girl standing over Caroline with her hands on her hips. Caroline, still confused by her newly awakened state asked, "Kat, what are you doing here? It's early. And why are you yelling?"
Katherine said nothing, she simply pointed at Klaus, who was trying in vain to be a chameleon.
"Oh, that's Nik, stop freaking out. Morning, Nik," Caroline replied as she snuggled back into her makeshift bed.
Pulling Caroline out of bed, Katherine said, "Caroline, this Nik person just slept in your house. Or didn't sleep. Do you even know his last name?"
Caroline, confused for a moment said, "Oh, well, no." Turning to Klaus she asked, "What's your last name?"
"Mikaelson," Klaus replied quickly.
"Now I do know his name, but to answer your more pertinent question, yes, we actually slept. Nothing else. Calm down, Kat," Caroline sighed.
"Caroline, I will not calm down. You can't just invite random men over if you're not at least going to do the nasty! That's when they get pissed and abduct you!" Katherine said.
Klaus sincerely hoped she just had a strange sense of humor.
"Look, it was all fine. I won't invite people to sleepover anymore, kay? Even though I do think somebody's being a bit of a hypocrite," Caroline said, raising her eyebrows with her suggestion.
Finally letting go of Caroline, Katherine said, "Fine. Are we going to get coffee or what?"
"Um, sure. I just need to get dressed first. Keep Nik company while I'm gone," Caroline said striding out of sight.
Slowly walking over to Klaus, Katherine extended her hand and said, "If you didn't catch on, I'm Katherine."
"Nik," he replied while shaking her hand.
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, awkwardly shuffling their feet and waiting for Caroline, they both released sighs of relief when she finally came out.
"Um, Nik, we're going to go get coffee for a little while, would you be okay staying here alone? Oh, well, with Mojito," she asked.
"Of course not. Have fun and take as long as you'd like, I'll be perfectly fine."
"Okay, see ya in a bit, bye."
"Goodbye, Caroline and Katherine, it was a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," Katherine grunted as she exited the apartment.
They locked the door behind them and Klaus suddenly heard growling.
Looking apprehensively down at Mojito, he pondered how much damage a dog that small could do.
AN : So... did you like it? I hope you did! I also, don't have one of those image thingies, so if someone wanted to make one for me, I'd be eternally grateful. Please, please review and follow me on tumblr at ihidemycrazy for some lovely Klaroline goodness! Love y'all!
