Disclaimer: Please see previous disclaimer. It still applies. Dammit.
A/N: Oh my gosh, you guys. I'm consumed with love for you all! I can't even BELIEVE the response I got for chapter one. You are all AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. I would make sweet love to all of you if I could. I'll send JoMo to do it instead, here, take him! You all deserve him! I am so floored by all of you, and because you're just the best people ever for reviewing, I am posting this chapter much earlier than I was intending. Just, you know, please don't hate me for giving you almost nothing but angst for chapter two. I'm sorry. I fail. Frown Emoticon.
I realized later that I didn't even MENTION in chapter one the inspiration for the title of this fic! I especially fail now. So Long, Lonesome is a song by Explosions in the Sky, from the album All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone. Go listen, it's great. It gave me Klaroline feels for this story.
Big time thanks to Anastasia Dreams for being SO supportive and editing this chapter for me! She rocks like you wouldn't believe.
Also...don't hate me for the Tatia. It'll be over soon, I promise. There are worse things to come... *ominous music*
So Long, Lonesome
Chapter Two: You took your love and wasted it
You took your love and wasted it, on someone who could care less for you.
I kept my word, everything I said came directly from my heart, it's true.
Don't think I won't forget the things you've done, don't think you won't regret forbidden fun.
I've drawn my line with you in the sand. Right now you are the one, who's unforgiven.
- "Unforgiven" Blood on the Dance Floor -
Caroline doesn't like her from the start. It seems as if everyone in the village carries on and on, Tatia this, and Tatia that, and oh, isn't Tatia just divine? It makes her sick.
Rebekah doesn't care for her either. She sneers when they find out Tatia has given birth to a child out of wedlock, and calls her something quite crude under her breath. Kol just thinks the both of them are jealous that someone more beautiful has taken up permanent residence in their village. Nevertheless, he keeps his distance from Tatia. A child means commitment, and Kol has no interest in such things.
Elijah is another matter. It seems as if whenever Caroline sees Tatia, Elijah is never far behind; always willing to lend a helping hand, always so eager to help her settle into the lifestyle of their small but hardworking village. When Caroline sits with him on the rooftop come morning, now their talk is filled with all things Tatia. He goes on about her endlessly, if Caroline lets him. She feels the urge to rip her own hair out most mornings; or his.
She doesn't notice the way Nik looks at Tatia; not at first. She's been so preoccupied with trying to ignore him, pretend he doesn't even exist, that it never occurred to her to even consider that he may have eyes for the new doe-eyed girl that has so beguiled the village. Caroline never thought that Niklaus himself would be beguiled as well.
But Caroline can't stay ignorant forever, and it's on the night of the full moon, while they all sit cramped and uncomfortable in the caves, that she notices. She's tucked in a corner with Kol and Rebekah, trying to ignore the sounds from beyond their little safe haven; a feat that is impossible. Kol provides a decent distraction, and even Rebekah laughs softly at his admittedly vulgar jokes. But the howling outside sets Caroline's teeth on edge, and she wants nothing more than to plug her ears and curl into her mother's arms as she use to do so long ago. She tries her hardest to focus on everything else; forget the fear, leave it behind, they are safe here, she tells herself.
She sees Tatia across the cavern, with her child tucked into her chest as she coos sweet words to him. Flickers of light from the torches lining the walls pass over her features, and despite the steadiness of her voice, Caroline notices the fright that has left Tatia looking pale. She also sees that Elijah is sitting quite near her, his hand settled against her back in a calming fashion; Caroline makes a face and looks away. Away, and right towards Nik. She doesn't mean to look at him, she truly doesn't. It's an accident, honest.
But it doesn't matter, because he isn't looking at her. No, Nik is looking at Tatia. He's watching the hand that Elijah has so casually touched her with, and he looks like he wants to rip it off and throw his brother to the wolves.
Caroline doesn't like this; she doesn't like it one bit. She wants to look away, she doesn't want to see the look on his face as he watches Tatia, almost possessively. But her eyes are transfixed to the scene, like a moth to a flame.
It's almost as if Tatia can feel the burn of his gaze upon her, for she begins to glance about the cavern with a little frown stitched across her lips. When she spots Nik looking at her and she catches his eye, he smiles at her in his usual roguish manner, dimples and all. No, no, no, no, no! Caroline wants to scream, she's so angry. He's supposed to smile at her like that! Not at this – this –
Tatia glances down, an alluring blush spreading across her cheeks, and Caroline thinks: good. Look away. Keep your eyes to yourself, you thief. He's mine. But then the girl is peering back up through her lashes, a coy smile spreading over her lips, and it seems she has eyes only for Niklaus, even as Elijah sits right next to her.
Caroline keeps her eyes on them after that; she can't help herself. She notices that when Elijah isn't around, Niklaus always is. And instead of lending a helping hand, he's always the one to convince Tatia to shirk duty, to take a walk through the woods as he teases her. When they disappear between the trees, an urge tends to come over Caroline; she wants to stomp her feet petulantly and pray to Thor to strike them down with his mighty hammer, Mjollnir. Instead she'll go somewhere private to sulk for a moment or two, all the while berating herself for being so childish. Caroline can only hope he's not taking Tatia to the waterhole as well. The thought alone sends a helpless sort of agony rippling through her, causes even her skin to prickle with restlessness. And it hurts, terribly.
She wonders if Elijah notices. He seems blissfully unaware of anything going on, while he makes calf's eyes at the mere mention of Tatia's name. He's a kind, sweet man, Caroline thinks; any woman would be lucky to have him. He deserves so much better than that girl.
But what can she do about it? How could she make him not feel things for Tatia, when she can't even cease her own infatuation for Nik? No one listens to her. Not ever. Not even herself.
She worries, though; worries what will happen if this progresses further. What will this do to Elijah and Nik?
Her eyes pass over him as if he doesn't exist; as if he is just a part of the scenery, a stump on the ground, a cluster of weeds worthy of nothing but disdain. It infuriates Niklaus, makes his hands clench into shaking fists that he yearns to put to use against the first person that dares try him.
This is what you wanted, is what he tells himself. Every time. This is what you asked for.
Wretch, scum, not fit for even a whore. His father's words are still there, in his head. They creep through his mind, hissing like snakes, and they twine themselves around him so tightly that he feels he won't be able to ever catch his breath. You leave that girl alone. She deserves a real man, not a shameful dog like you. The blow of it was staggering, when first he heard those words. And they stagger him still. Worse than his father's fists ever did.
Caroline shines; like a small ray of light, a drop of sunshine sent to him from Valhalla. Nik's ray of light. She used to be his. Sometimes he thinks of those looks she used to send him beneath her lashes, burning him with the blue of her eyes. Sometimes, when he shuts his eyes, he can hear the soft trickle of her laughter as she skips beneath the forest trees; lit up from within as she dances across little patches of dappled sunlight. So much light, too bright to gaze at for long, as if she is the goddess Sunna herself.
She shines. And Nik rots. If Caroline is Sunna, then he is most certainly Skoll; and like the wolf, if he were to get too close, it would cause an eclipse. He is infectious, and she would succumb to his disease until all of her light and beauty had faded from her. His father was right. Caroline deserves perfection, and he will see to it that she gets it.
He misses her though. When Nik sees her in the village, with that little smile on her face, he remembers when they were young; when they use to do everything together. Her laughter reaches him now, as she ruffles the hair of a young lad, and a smile of his own catches at his lips. There are days when he can hardly contain himself from seeking her out and asking her how her day was; she use to prattle on and on about every little detail until he was ready to plug his ears with annoyance, but he finds even that small act is something that he misses.
They can't be friends. He doesn't know how he resisted those yearning looks of hers for so long; every time, it got harder and harder to deny the impulse to claim her lips. If he is near her, it wouldn't take long. He wouldn't be able to contain himself.
His father would beat him again, if that happened. Nik scoffs to himself; as if he cares, let the old man. One day, he'll show him. The worse alternative is that he would kiss her and eventually his kiss would suck her dry. Nik can't allow that. He will resist her.
Speaking of resistance, here comes his distraction now. Nik smiles a little wider as Tatia appears next to him, breathless and doe-eyed as usual.
"Tatia," he says, holding his elbow out for her to take. "Fancy a walk, sweetheart?"
Tatia quirks her lips at him and bats her lashes. "But of course, Niklaus. Nothing would give me more pleasure," she purrs. There's a slight huskiness to her voice, a tone that always sends heat flashing down to his groin. She is a most efficient distraction.
Maybe one day, she'll distract him so thoroughly that he'll forget that's all she ever was. Maybe he'll forget that she was never the one he truly wanted.
He can get lost, kissing her. Lost because sometimes…sometimes he forgets whom he's kissing. He kisses her hard, as if his lips alone can will his wishes to be true, and when her tongue slides along his own Nik moans, throatily, and kisses her all the harder.
I miss you…
Nik swallows her whimpers against his lips, he takes everything she has as he melds himself against her. The hand of his that cradles her cheek has strands of hair tangled around it; behind his closed lids he pictures the soft locks to be blonde.
I can pretend, I can make myself believe…
Caroline parts her lips from his and speaks, and the whole world tumbles down upon his shoulders as she ruins the illusion. Because it's not Caroline he's kissing; it's Tatia.
"I'm afraid we must cut this short, Niklaus. I must return to the village," she pants, running her fingertips over his abdomen. He grins down at her, despite the crushing disappointment that's taken up residence in his chest.
"And why is that? Stay. I'm sure I can convince you." He kisses along her jaw, but she pushes him away, a stubborn furrow settling between her brows. "Elijah is expecting me."
Nik instantly releases her, jerking back, his eyes flashing with anger. A distraction she may be, yes, but she's his distraction. Damn it.
"Oh, don't look so jealous Nik. It isn't an attractive look for you." His scowl at her deepens. "Honestly, he and I are only friends. I swear it."
Her smile is sharp, like the edge of a dagger, and it can be just as painful as one too.
Time passes. Between the day-to-day work of the village and preparing meals with her mother, for she's been supping with her more and more lately, Caroline keeps a cautious eye on Elijah, and Tatia, and Nik. There really isn't a thing she can do, but the worry is always there, and she can't help but note how things are progressing between the three of them.
Niklaus avoids Elijah, and glares at him openly when his brother is conversing with Tatia. Elijah never seems to notice; his eyes never leave Tatia as she beams up at him, her smile sweet, her act of dutiful little woman targeted directly for her captive audience. Caroline isn't sure which is the real Tatia; the one that smiles tenderly at her son and plays with him in the dirt; the one that has deep, serious talks with Elijah; the one that flirts coyly with Nik. Caroline isn't sure she wants to know.
She notes the times that Tatia and Elijah seem to be nowhere in sight, and later she'll see Elijah looking flushed; content. She also notes when it's Nik that's missing when Tatia is, rather than Elijah. She tries to not notice when he turns up again; she doesn't want to see the evidence of Tatia's effect on him. She doesn't want to see Nik wearing the same satisfied look that Elijah wears.
She waits with baited breath, always worrying for Elijah. If she worries for Nik, the pain will come back. It will eat her, slowly, like a canker settling in her stomach, in her heart. If she thinks about Nik, all she will be able to see are the things she's missing out on, the looks and touches that she so desperately wants for herself.
The yearning she feels for him will swallow her whole, if she lets it. She can't let it. She won't let it.
"Must you do that?" Kol grumbles, a frown on his lips. Caroline starts, jerking her chin from where it rests against her folded arms. She scrunches her brows together, throwing him a confused look.
"What?" She asks. She hasn't done anything; they've just been admiring the grazing sheep, watching the little ones totter about on unsteady legs. Caroline can't imagine what it is she's done to stoke his ire; she's been silent the entire time.
Kol rolls his eyes at her. "That face. Stop making it."
Caroline puckers her lips in confusion. "What face?"
"You're looking at those sheep as if they have grievously offended you."
Is she? Caroline hadn't realized. She parts her lips to deny it, but Kol cuts her off.
"And while you're at it, stop making those little lovesick sighs, as well. I've grown weary of them."
Well, now she knows he's being overdramatic. She was not sighing, lovesick or otherwise. Caroline scoffs at him, slapping his shoulder lightly.
"I was not, don't be such a –"
"Oh gods, you mean you don't even realize how pathetic you've been lately?"
"Ugh, why are you so –"
"I mean, honestly, Caroline. You're going about this whole thing the entirely wrong way."
Caroline scowls at him, unimpressed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Go on. Speak plainly, Kol."
Kol sighs as if he's just been asked to explain why he chases after so many of the village girls (it really is the very same sigh, with his eyes shooting skyward and his head shaking side to side very slightly, an expression on his face that says: I am surrounded by morons. Why wouldn't I chase girls, you imbecile?).
"Caroline, Caroline, Caroline," he chastises, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Have I taught you nothing?" Caroline rolls her eyes up at him, but a smile is already playing across her lips. Kol leans closer, as if he's about to reveal some great secret to her.
"You'll never get Nik's attention away from Tatia like this," he says, sagely.
"Like what?"
"All…miserable and lonely." Kol's whole face scrunches, as if he's tasted something foul. But then he grins at her.
"You need to make him jealous." The most conniving smile she has ever seen spreads across his face. She's quite sure there isn't another soul alive that can top Kol's I-have-a-scheme-and-it-is-very-evil face, and not for the first time Caroline suspects that he is actually Loki posing as a human, prepared to wreak all sorts of mischief upon their village. Oh, this boy. He is too much. Caroline tries to shrug him off, but Kol doesn't budge.
"Nik has Tatia, so you should find someone as well. He'll go mad with jealousy and beg for you, then."
Caroline huffs, jutting her chin out. "Oh yes? And who do you propose I use?" She mutters sarcastically. Kol's grin widens as he leans closer.
"Who do you think?" He purrs. And he waggles his brows at her.
"Oh, gods. Gross, Kol!" She pushes his face away from her with a hand and ducks under his arm, shaking her head at him as he laughs. "You are insufferable!"
Kol straightens his shoulders almost proudly. "I still got you to smile though, did I not?" He asks, beaming at her. Genuine, for once.
Caroline turns away from him, exasperated. But he's right; she is smiling.
They help ease the ache, when she's with them; Rebekah, Kol, Elijah. Even little Henrik. She loves each of them, dearly, and she finds that with them the ability to smile comes to her somewhat easier. But her smiles never last forever. When she's alone, the frown creeps back across her face, and the loneliness settles inside of her once more.
It's one of those days. They all have their own chores to do; it's a small village, their settlement, and with the werewolves living amongst them even fewer people decide to settle in it, so they all must pick up the slack. Caroline's in the processes of milking one of their cows, wishing for Rebekah's company (the day always seems to fly by so quickly when they're together) and that's when she hears it; laughter, and the sound of feet tumbling in through the straw that litters the floor of the byre. Caroline flicks her blonde curls over one shoulder, annoyed, and brushes sweat from her brow.
"Oh, Niklaus –" She hears, and then a moan. There's the sound of something hitting a wall.
Oh no, Caroline thinks, Oh please no. I don't want to hear this.
She milks harder, hoping the sound will alert them to the fact that they're not alone, but there's no response. She can hear heavy breathing, and another moan, but this time it isn't Tatia, it's – it's –
Caroline's cheeks burn with shame at hearing this. She stands abruptly, knocking over the bucket of milk in her haste. The cow bleats as it hits its legs, and now that Caroline is standing she sees the figures pressed to the entryway both freeze. It's Nik and Tatia, just as she suspected. He has the girl pressed to the wall, his hands cradling her face, but his lips are no longer attached to hers.
Instead he's looking at Caroline, and his face is frozen in an agonized expression. He looks like he wants to just die. Caroline can relate; she feels the same.
Tatia smiles at Caroline, and steps closer to Nik when he tries to move away from her. "Oh, Caroline! We didn't realize you were in here," she simpers, placing her hand against Nik's chest. Caroline's vision goes red.
"You look as if you've been working hard today," Tatia adds, and she wrinkles her nose somewhat distastefully. Self-conscious, Caroline wipes at her brow again, feeling the dampness there from her labors. She's sure she looks quite a mess, with her braid rumpled and dirt along the skirt of her dress. Nothing like Tatia, looking perfectly beautiful with her perfectly woven dark locks; and her lips swollen from Nik's kisses.
"Caroline's a very hard worker," Nik says, in her defense. Caroline's heart swells. "She's always willing to help." She could just throw her arms around him. She smiles at Nik, hesitantly, shyly, and there's a small beat of a moment; as if the world ceases to be, and it's just her and him in that byre. Tatia doesn't exist at all. He smiles back at her, just slightly, and the ache inside of her chest just grows and grows at seeing him look at her like that again. She's missed him so much.
But Tatia interrupts the moment, upset at having the attention drawn away from her.
"Hmm, yes, well. I can think of much more interesting things we could be doing, Nik." Tatia looks up at him suggestively, and Caroline flinches at the use of his nickname. Niklaus is still watching Caroline; he looks like he wants to say more, but Tatia is grabbing his arm, pulling him to her. "Come on, Nik," she breathes.
Caroline turns her nose up. "Yes, go on, don't let me stop you," she says in her haughtiest tone. Nik's face hardens, and then he's grabbing Tatia's hand and pulling her sharply through the opening of the byre.
With them gone, Caroline sits down slowly, righting the bucket; she'll have to start all over now, she thinks with a sigh. Before she does though, she rests her forehead along the side of the cow she sits next to, soaking in its warmth, feeling the softness against her face. Caroline breathes deep, to stifle the tears. She erects a barrier of steel around her mind, to keep back the images in her head; the ones of Nik, passionate and fervent, kissing Tatia. She won't think of that.
(But she will. Those images will keep her awake at night for days, weeks, an endless time of agony. Sometimes…sometimes they still keep her awake. Even now).
She's a distraction. She's a distraction. She's a distraction. Niklaus tells himself that firmly, every time. Every single time. And for the most part, it's easy to remember. His heart has belonged to Caroline for a long time; since he was only a lad, and she his best friend. He doesn't love Tatia, he doesn't ache for her.
But then there are the times that he burns for her.
It's those times that he forgets everything; he forgets his father, he forgets Elijah (forgets to wonder if Tatia has been doing the very same things with his brother), he forgets Caroline. All he can see, hear, feel, all that he wants is straddling his lap and moaning his name, and the need for her can be consuming when he never meant for it to be.
Tatia. She's a beautiful girl; a beautiful woman. Her dark locks tumble all around him, soft against his face, against his chest, and when her hands wander he can hardly believe that someone so beautiful is touching him. Hadn't his father always said he didn't deserve that?
She's so soft against him, so warm, so vibrant and it makes him feel alive. He's been so lonely, since that day he pushed Caroline away. Alone and bitter and hollow inside. But Tatia makes it go away, when he's with her; she gives him the kiss of life.
He can breathe again, for a short while. He feels the ache ease.
But later he'll see Caroline, always from a distance, always beyond his reach (because that's exactly where he's placed her). The ability to breath escapes him all over again, and the ache punches into his chest fiercer and fiercer each time.
"Caroline. Have you seen Niklaus today?"
Caroline snorts. "Honestly, Elijah. Are you quite daft?" She shakes her head at him, hardly able to comprehend that he would even think to ask her that. She picks through the herbs she's collected for their stores, separating them into piles. Thyme and wild caraway, a little of mint; she brings some to her nose and inhales the scent.
"Tatia is missing as well," Elijah adds, watching her as she sets the mint in its own pile.
"Oh?" Watercress, parsley. She even picked some berries; juniper berries. Caroline rolls them between her fingertips.
"They seem to disappear together quite often."
Caroline feigns ignorance. "Oh, I hadn't noticed."
She's leveled with a stern look from Elijah as he crosses his arms. "Caroline," he murmurs quietly, in a warning tone. She straightens her piles and notes absently that she hadn't been able to find any fennel today.
"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Elijah," she finally says, looking up at him at last. Elijah uncrosses his arms, stepping closer. Caroline gives him her big eyes.
"I – I do not want to talk about Nik. Can you not understand that? Please just – just leave me alone."
A guilty look crosses over Elijah's face, and he nods. "Of course, I – forgive me, Caroline. It was not my intent to cause you pain." Caroline looks down, schooling her expression carefully, trying hard to not let her own guilt flit across her features. Elijah steps away. "I'll let you get on with your work."
When he leaves, Caroline sighs to herself. He deserves to know what's happening behind his back; he suspects it, and it will be no time at all before he knows for certain. But she can't bring herself to tell him.
Just a little longer, she thinks. She can't bear the thought of the devastation this will cause between the brothers. She wishes she could hold if off as long as possible; she wishes she could hold it off forever.
Gods, Niklaus, she thinks. How could you do this?
She's not a distraction. She's not a distraction. She's not a distraction. He has to make himself believe it. She's his; he won't let Elijah have her. He won't, because Nik needs her.
There's a day that Tatia takes him to the caves. To be more alone, she breathes into his ear. He shudders, the burn for her coming to life. So he follows her to the caves, and that day he doesn't even need to remind himself that she's a distraction. She drives every thought from his mind that day; every thought, but the burning need that festers and grows inside of him. He has to have her. He has to. And so she lets him.
The inevitable comes; Caroline can't hold it off forever. It was bound to happen, she knew that, but despite the fact that she's been preparing herself for this moment, the devastation is no easier to bear. The pain it brings is sharp, for both her, and Elijah.
They're sitting on the roof, and Elijah is avoiding the topic of Tatia for once. He tells Caroline that they suspect Finn should be back soon from the latest voyage the men of age have embarked on, and shortly after that it's possible that they'll be leaving for a new destination. Elijah will be accompanying them this time. Possibly even Niklaus. Caroline isn't sure whether to feel relieved at this news, or crushed.
I'll miss you, she tells him.
I'll miss you both, she thinks. That thought cannot be voiced. Not ever again.
She looks out, towards the forest, her thoughts confused, muddled in her head. She doesn't know what to feel anymore; there are too many feelings inside of her, too much heartache, too much bitterness. Caroline sighs despondently.
Through the trees, they come. Niklaus. Tatia. Hand in hand. Tatia's dress is rumpled, and she has little bits of leaves and pine straw in her tangled hair. Nik looks smug, an insatiable look on his face as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her against his chest, there under the trees. Just barely visible; but visible enough.
Oh, it hurts.
"Elijah, I think we should –"
She tries to divert his attention, but now he's looking that way and he freezes as his eyes catch them. And no matter how desperately she tries to avert her own gaze (she doesn't want to see this, she doesn't want to see this, oh gods, she doesn't want to see this), her eyes are drawn as well. She can see them still, even as the tears blur her vision.
Niklaus is kissing Tatia. He pushes her against a tree and kisses her with an ardor Caroline has never known. Tatia's hands fist in his hair, pulling him against her tighter, as Nik's hands run down to her hips.
Oh, it stings.
Their passion never seems to end; it's all Caroline can see, Nik's arms around her, Nik's lips upon hers, running down the column of her throat, moving down to where the tops of her breasts show above her dress. There is a look of ecstasy on Tatia's face as her hands run over his chest and down to his abdomen.
Oh, make it stop.
It's unbearable, looking at them, and wishing so desperately that it was her that Nik was kissing. She wonders what his lips would feel like against hers, how they would feel along her flesh; she longs to feel his hands touching her, for his warmth to surround her. But he's giving it all to Tatia. It isn't fair, Caroline thinks. It isn't fair at all.
So she looks away, because if she has to see the storm of their passion together there under the trees, she'll die. She just knows it.
Caroline looks to Elijah instead, and wishes that she hadn't. He looks devastated, his face pale and his brown eyes dimmed, quenched of any of the light that Tatia had brought to them. At the look on his face, Caroline wants nothing more than to scoop him into her arms and weep. She remembers when he was just a boy, and the way he would hug her when she'd scraped her knees on the rough forest floor, and the way he would carry her on his back. He taught Nik how to do that.
"Elijah, I –"
He looks at her, with his big brown eyes, and she wonders if he sees the same look upon her face. Wonders if, right this moment, they mirror each other exactly. There is no Elijah and Caroline upon the rooftop, there is only pain and loss.
Caroline throws her arms about his shoulders, hugging him to her fiercely, and as his arms fit around her, sheltering her with warmth and safety, she realizes she needed that feeling just as badly as he did.
She holds him in her arms, this man who is a brother to her, her dearest big brother, and he holds her in his. And the devastation is still painful, but somewhat easier to bear.
The tension is palpable after that, and bound to explode at any moment. Now it's Elijah that avoids Niklaus, barely even sparing his brother so much as a glance. Rebekah hounds Caroline until she finally tells her what they saw; her voice is emotionless, her face expressionless. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. She won't let it hurt her anymore.
But something inside of Caroline is fractured, broken in pieces, and the look on Rebekah's face tells Caroline that her friend can see that. When Rebekah tries to put her arms around her, she shrugs them off and states firmly that she's just fine.
If she says it enough, maybe she'll believe it.
Rebekah drops the subject, but Caroline suspects that she'll be yelling at Nik later. When she catches his eyes the next day, for the first time in what feels like forever, he flushes and averts his gaze, and she knows Rebekah did. She rather wishes that the stubborn girl hadn't; she doesn't want Nik to know that she'd seen that moment. It only makes the strain between them worse.
It finally happens. The moment she's been waiting for, the explosion of violence between the two brothers who once got along so well.
It's nearly dark outside, just the smallest rays of light peeping through between the branches that she and Rebekah walk under. Rebekah is telling her about one of the boys in the village, they both think he's taken a liking to her, and she's going through each and every detail of her latest run-in with him. Caroline has her arm looped through Rebekah's, and she smiles despite the petty jealousy hidden in her heart; she wants to be happy for her, she really does, but she wishes so much, so so much –
The sound of voices yelling nearby cut through her thoughts and Rebekah's words. They both fall silent and glance towards the direction the noises are coming from. They sound angry, so very angry.
"That sounds like –" Rebekah starts, and Caroline nods. "Yes. I – I think they're –" She doesn't finish her thought either. They both look at each other, fearful, because they know what this means. Through some unspoken agreement they unlink arms and run towards the sounds of escalating fury.
By the time they get there, their boys are already fighting. Nik's lip is bleeding, and one of his eyes is swollen shut. Blood is gushing from Elijah's nose, pouring down his chin. They're screaming at each other, and it's so loud and so furious that the girls can hardly tell what they're saying.
They hear Tatia's name though, and send each other a knowing look. Exasperated, they rush toward the boys (honestly, boys, Caroline wouldn't even think to call the fools men right now), throwing their own voices into the din of noise. Caroline wraps her arms around Elijah's waist, pulling him back, placing herself between them just as Rebekah does the same to Nik.
"Look at the two of you! My brothers! Fighting over that stupid girl!" Rebekah is furious, and she looks like she may start hitting Nik herself. He glares down at her, breathing hard. Caroline places a calming hand against Elijah's chest, but he seems to not need it. At their interference, he had backed off, and Caroline smiles slightly in amusement as he brushes the dirt from his shoulders idly.
"This has to stop. You cannot continue this ridiculous affair, the both of you. Nik, you're coming with me and I will make you see sense." Rebekah shakes him firmly, before throwing a glance at Elijah. "Caroline, you take Elijah." Caroline smiles a little maliciously, grabbing his arm to haul him off.
Nik's eyes glance down towards her hand, and he shakes his sister off, striding forward with a furious glint in his eyes. "Get your hands off of him," he growls. Caroline has never heard such menace in his voice. He grabs her wrist, painfully, and pulls her against him. Her eyes water at the tightness of his grip.
Elijah reacts instantly; the tension between the two still runs high, and he looks as if he's ready to pummel Niklaus again and again. He puts his face barely an inch from his brother's, and his voice sounds like death. "You've caused her quite enough pain, Niklaus. Mind your hands."
Nik releases Caroline, and she stumbles a bit, gasping as the feeling rushes back into her fingers. He grabs the front of Elijah's tunic, bringing his fist back, and Caroline jumps between them again just as Rebekah is yelling for them to stop.
"Now, boys," Caroline emphasis the word, glaring at each of them sternly. She places a hand against Nik's chest, careful not to touch Elijah. His heart is pounding, ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump, so fast against her fingers. "Enough is enough. Niklaus, you come with me." Rebekah shoots her a surprised look. Caroline rolls her eyes, to cover up her nervousness. "Rebekah, you take Elijah."
Nik is staring down at her, his gaze unreadable, and when she grabs his hand to lead him away his fingers clutch hers so tightly, so desperately.
"Come along, Nik," she whispers, softly. He looks away from her, shame-faced. "Why don't we have a little talk?"
A/N: I hope this crap chapter lived up to everyone's expectations. I'm terrified of disappointing all of you now. Drop a review and let me know! Oh, please!
