The Great Gatsby : (1974 / 2013)


"It was all for her." Stefan spoke the words slowly and Elena nodded from where she sat across from him.

"He threw all those parties just hoping that one day she might wander in." Elena looked out over the vast gardens of the Lockwood estate, shaking her head slowly. "Its incredibly romantic don't you think?" When she turned back to Stefan she had a dreamy look in her eye as she lowered her chin to rest on her hand.

"Its incredible." Stefan's voice trailed off as he looked across the lake. The Mikaelson mansion sat just across the water, and if he looked just to the side of it he could barely make out his own little house.

He's met Niklaus Mikaelson in the beginning of the summer and almost at once he was entranced with the way that he held himself. He was, most certainly, the richest man Stefan had ever met. And without a doubt the most mysterious. Klaus kept to himself, in fact his entire estate was usually as quiet as a graveyard, not a soul in sight. Except for every weekend when the night would be lit up by his parties. Parties that would last for three days straight. Parties that were grander than anything Hollywood could come up with. Parties that attracted everyone from mobsters and gangsters to Hollywood starlets and common streetfolk.

It didn't take long for it all to work itself out. The mystery of Niklaus Mikaelson. The reason for the wonderful parties. The fascination that Klaus seemed to have for Stefan. The missing piece, it seemed, was Stefan's cousin and Elena's best friend Caroline Lockwood. She was classically beautiful. When she married Tyler Lockwood hearts around the world broke. But she'd always seemed so sad to Stefan. After the wedding there seemed to only be a shell of the woman she'd once been. She was so softspoken now, no longer the fighting, spirited girl she had been when he had last visited her before Tyler had been in the picture. Caroline Lockwood was the key that they'd all been missing.

"We met him before, Caroline and I. He was an officer at the time, he came with some friends to one of The Forbes brunches. You would have thought the two were cats and dogs the way they bickered." Elena laughed, shaking her head as she leaned back in her chair. "But god she loved him. I've never seen a woman so in love with a man."

"What happened?"

"I have no idea. He went off to the war. She didn't hear from him for ages and when she was about to marry Tyler…" Elena shook her head, taking a sip of her tea before lowering her voice. "She got a letter and she went insane. She told everyone to call off the wedding. Told us to tell them that she'd changed her mind. But her mother forced her to calm down and the next morning she married Tyler."

There was silence between them for a few moments and when Elena reached out to touch Stefan's hand, he recognized the small sign of mischief behind her gaze. "We need to do something about this."


"We ought to do something tonight." It was Stefan who spoke up first. Tyler looking at him inquisitively. "My neighbor, he throws these lavish parties, we ought to go. I hear they're quite the spectacle."

"Your neighbor?" Tyler's eyebrow raised as he took a sip of his brandy.

"I would love to go to a party. Besides its too hot to be outdoors." Caroline half lay on the small couch next to Elena, her hand fanning herself languidly as she watched Stefan.

"My neighbor,' Stefan looked at Elena for a moment, catching her small nod before continuing on, "Mikaelson is his name. Perhaps you've heard of him? He does something on wall street, I'm sure."

"I can't say I've he–" Tyler was interrupted as Caroline sat up slowly, speaking over him.

"Mikaelson?" All eyes turned to her and Stefan watched as the color slowly drained from her face, he saw a spark of something in her eyes then, something that reminded him of the girl she used to be.


"She doesn't know. She doesn't…I've done it all for her and she doesn't…" Klaus paced in Stefan's foyer, hands running through his sandy curls as he talked like a madman. "I have to tell her. After all these years…all for her."

"Perhaps we could–" Stefan tried to speak but Klaus, it seemed, was attuned to his own world.

"She's not forgotten, surely she couldn't have…I told her…I promised her…"

"She's coming tomorrow. For tea. Perhaps then you could–" That, it seemed, caught Klaus' attention. He spun quickly, his eyes gleaming as Stefan cut off what he was about to say.

"Yes. That'll work. That'll be perfect. Tea."


He'd left for nearly an hour to get some biscuits before Caroline came for tea and when he returned he barely recognized his own house. There were flowers literally covering every surface imaginable. The grass had been mowed, the shutters fixed and painted. The house was immaculate and there stood Klaus, staring out the back window.

"I don't think you got enough flowers," Stefan quipped, setting down the biscuits as Klaus turned.

"Do you think? I could send for more." The worry in his eyes was clear. Stefan had never seen him so unglued. Had Elena been there she would have called it romantic, as she called everything, but Stefan didn't have time to dwell on it.

"The house looks lovely." Stefan assured him and Klaus nodded once. A car honked outside and Klaus froze as Stefan turned to see Caroline's car coming up the drive. "I'll be back." Klaus nodded once more, running his hand through his hair.

Caroline stepped out of the car elegantly, thanking the driver and telling him to come back later as she turned to Stefan. "The house looks lovely," She took his arm, smiling warmly. "You're not here to tell me you're madly in love with me are you?" There was a joking twinkle in her eye and Stefan gave a light hearted laugh as he led her into the house. His heart raced as he watched her enter the sitting room, as he heard her small gasp. And then….nothing.

When he turned the corner, he saw her standing right where Klaus had been, alone, surrounded by an absurd amount of flowers. "My god." She looked at Stefan, trying to hold back a laugh, "You are in love with me aren't you?" Before he could answer, her eyes caught something over his shoulder and she froze.

"Caroline." Klaus' voice was more tender than Stefan had ever heard it.

"Klaus…" Caroline looked as if she'd seen a ghost.

He was half expecting them to run to one another. Or for some wildly passionate reunion. But it never came. Instead they sat silently, awkwardly.

"We knew each other before the war." Caroline broke the silence, nodding once to Stefan who gave her a thin smile in return. "Klaus came with his brothers. Isn't that right?"

"Yes. Kol and Elijah."

He couldn't take it anymore. It was too formal. It was worse than being around her and Tyler. "I need to go to the store." Stefan stood quickly, Caroline giving him a panicked look as Klaus stood with him. "I'll be back in a bit. You two stay here." He moved as quickly as he could but just before he made for the door, Klaus grabbed him.

"What are you doing?" There was panic in his eyes too and Klaus sighed.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? She's sitting in there alone, confused, probably nervous and scared out of her mind and you're trying to follow me out."

Klaus paused for a moment. "You're right."


The door shut behind him as Stefan left, leaving Klaus standing alone, with the woman who had haunted every moment of his life for the past decade sitting mere yards away. He walked slowly back to the room, Caroline looking up when he sank into the chair across from her. "He's gone to the store." Caroline nodded once as she took another sip of her tea. They fell into an awkward silence as Caroline sipped at her tea.

She brought the cup to her lips again, this time failing to take a sip as she burst into a laugh, quickly setting her cup down and covering her mouth with her hand. All it took was one look at Klaus for her to burst into another round of laughter. His eyes narrowed and she shook her head, laughing some more as tears formed in her eyes.

"This is so incredibly awkward." She managed to say and Klaus' serious expression finally molded into the smile that she used to love so much. "I'm sure all this was your idea." She wiped a tear from her eye, trying to contain her laughter as he stared at her.

"I wanted to do something for you." He shrugged and she erupted into another round of laughter, shaking her head.

"So you bought the entire city's flower supply?" He laughed this time too. "Oh Nik," She shook her head watching as Klaus moved to sit next to her. His hand found her cheek, his fingers tracing the lines of her face. Her laughter faded as she brought her own hand to his cheek. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. More than you can even imagine." He brought his lips to her forehead and pulled her closer to him, relishing in the way her arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to her. She breathed in his scent, shutting her eyes tightly. She wanted so badly to stop time, to just live in this moment forever.

"All those years," Her voice was muffled as she spoke, the sound of her voice getting lost in his jacket. "All those years you were right across the lake."

"I watched the light from your dock." His hand had moved to stroke her hair, his voice low. "Every night I would just stand and watch it. I would imagine that you were doing the same. And i hoped that one day you would come to one of the parties at my house. I imagined for years and years how it would be to finally have you in my arms again. And now…" He shook his head, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "No thought could compare to the real thing."

"I love that light." She spoke after a few moments of silence. "I watch it every night. I love that its steady, everything in the world moves so fast now but that light its just…its so steady. Constant. I never knew you were on the other side of it."

"But you know now. And now you can come with me. We can make a life together. A good life. The life we dreamed about when we were young."

She didn't say anything, her only response was to hold him tighter, shut her eyes harder, try to stop time from going any further.

It was how Stefan found them nearly an hour later, Klaus holding her close, his hand stroking her hair as Caroline buried her head in his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around him. Stefan smiled at the sight. He was sure then that Elena had been right, never had there been and never would there be a man or a woman more in love. And with that much love, what could possibly go wrong?