If I never see you again: Chapter 2- Just to hear you say
Disclaimer: The characters and other things from The Vampire Diaries don't belong to me. Credit goes to the rightful owners.
A/N: Couldn't resist I just felt like I needed to continue this story. Hope you like it!
"You. I'm afraid of you."
Caroline was driving around aimlessly, hoping that it would clear her mind. She was wishing that after the fiftieth time around town maybe, just maybe, she'd forget that last message.
Klaus missed her.
She gripped the steering wheel tight and continued down the road. If her heart were still beating, it would be pounding by now. Caroline was brought back to the day that Silas tormented her, used her deepest desires against her. Even with all the mess with Elena, she still wondered where Klaus went and part of her wished for him to come back for her, take her away to New Orleans or Chicago or wherever he really was. When she thought her mother had died, she wanted that even more. Caroline wanted to run from Mystic Falls, take her mother and go to the one man she knew could protect them.
But Silas twisted that and forced her to face something that haunted her since the day she found Klaus bleeding in his own home, so afraid for his life and desperate to be saved.
Caroline was afraid of Klaus, of what exactly he was in her life. He was every risk she never took, every single shred of crazy she had worked so hard to keep out of her life. And yet her heart was a traitor, whispering to her that he could well be the greatest adventure of her life.
She slowed down when she realized what neighborhood she was in. No matter what turn she took, she somehow still found herself drawn to him or what was left of him in Mystic Falls. She came to a stop right in front of his old house.
Caroline got out of the car and walked towards the front door, waiting for someone to stop her or just see some sign of the owner. There was nothing. She almost turned around but her hand found its way to opening the front door.
The house was as she saw it last, everything in the same place, waiting for its master. Caroline ran her fingers over the tables, tracing a line through the dust that had settled. She wondered if Klaus would even bother with packing up or if he will just move on.
She sighed as those words went through her mind. She couldn't move on. Her heart protested at the thought and each time it crossed her mind, she found herself reaching for her phone to listen to his messages over and over again.
Caroline walked further into the house until she found herself standing in front of his paintings, most of them unfinished except for one—the silhouette of a woman by a window. The colors were almost a whisper on the canvas, each brushstroke careful and controlled. Only the side of the woman's face could be seen but Caroline knew her longing because it was her own.
She shook her head and pulled out her phone, hoping he wouldn't answer. Caroline smiled when she heard the beep.
"I'm at your house and I'm taking the painting by the far wall. By the way, this house will be full of cobwebs soon so maybe you should get some sort of cleaning service while you're away…or just pack it all up into storage…in case…in case you're never coming back. Yeah, so…thanks for the painting."
Caroline hesitated for a second before continuing.
"And I miss you too."
Klaus stalked off, leaving Elijah to deal with the witches. He hated their rules and part of him wanted to just snap Marcel's neck then set him on fire. Then he could start rebuilding the town to his liking.
In his rage, he didn't notice his phone ring. Three messages. One was from that bartender Camille babbling on and on about some theory on art and the human mind. The next was from one of Marcel's lackeys telling him where the gathering was going to be and that he was expected to arrive promptly at 7pm.
Klaus nearly crushed the phone at that, growling in frustration that he had to continue with the charade of following whatever code it was that Marcel had brought down on New Orleans. He decided he would be more than fashionably late. It was a pathetic excuse for defiance but it was the most he could do until the witches decided they were moving forward with phase two.
He almost skipped the last messaged and it was the one that stopped him in his tracks. Right there in the middle of the road, Klaus lifted his face to the sun and let out an unrestrained laugh.
Caroline was at his house, effectively stealing from him and it was the best news he had in a while.
He wasn't gone from her life. Caroline found a way to keep him in it. Even if she couldn't leave her small town, she found some way to him.
Klaus held his phone like a lifeline as he kept walking, wondering how he should respond. Since deciding to stay in New Orleans, he thought nonstop about the future, how each step would lead to a different outcome. There was always one he kept going back to, the one he wanted most but knew was the least likely to happen.
Klaus imagined going back one last time to Mystic Falls, maybe to close up his house, cause a little trouble and to say goodbye to Caroline. But that conversation would end with him asking her to go to New Orleans. Naturally, she would refuse at first. But then he'd ask her what she was afraid of and she would have no answer. By sunset, Caroline would be in the passenger seat of his car as they drove off to start a life without Silas, without doppelgangers and Tyler Lockwood.
But Klaus knew he wouldn't do all of that. He'd never ask because he was the one who was afraid that she would say no, especially with all the madness that surrounded him in this twisted version of the New Orleans he left behind. That kind of rejection would push him into a dark place he needed to stay the hell away from, for her sake. Klaus kept tabs on Tyler; always aware of where his last hybrid was in the world. As it was, he was barely able to keep himself from eliminating the traitor once and for all. But he wanted to give Caroline as many perfect nights as he could, even if she never knew about it. So Klaus stayed away and he had every intention of keeping things that way.
Klaus watched as a parade turned the corner, about a minute away from where he was. The entire spectacle was so full of color, energy that it felt alive to him. He imagined Caroline standing next to him, eyes bright with amusement as the revelers passed them. She might criticize a few missteps here and there but without thinking, she would clutch his arm in excitement. She wouldn't even notice it when he places her arm in his as they walked down the street because she would still be talking about everything she loved about New Orleans. She would point at new things, stare at them and force him to look too. She would dance, sing and have a smile on her face until day turned into night and into day once more.
It was a wish not a future. Klaus accepted that. But that didn't mean he would stop wanting to even just hear her voice. So he called her. A small wave of disappointment hit him when the beep sounded, prompting him to leave a message. So he wouldn't be able to talk to her just yet. This will have to do then.
"Check the back of the canvas, love. I always meant for you to have it. Heard that you lot finally got rid of Silas. Glad to know there's one less villain I have to worry about."
Klaus took a deep breath before speaking again, imagining her staring at the painting as he listened to his voice, rough and full of emotion as he breathed the words out.
"God, I wish you were here, Caroline."
