"I trusted you." That had been the words she had used. And they haunted him, provoking emotions he wasn't quite comfortable with. They had surprised him, really taken him aback. After that everything had just come toppling down on him. He couldn't help but believe her when she stated that she knew nothing about the blood bags. He cursed himself for his impulsiveness. Thinking of the fact that he had been… well, not exactly gentle with her caused him to wince involuntarily.
I trusted you. Well, fantastic, the use of past tense had never been so insightful. He had just eradicated every glimpse of a chance he had had with her. His gaze darkened as he took another sip of his drink. He'd been trying to distract himself from all that had happened previously that day.
When he'd found the destroyed blood bags with the scent of her perfume hovering all over them his mind had went blank. Betrayal was what he had felt, even more than the blinding rage that shook him to his core. If he was honest he'd have given her a free pass for virtually everything but this went so far beyond anything he'd ever anticipated that he had just cracked. Switching off his emotion he had gotten ready to – worst case scenario – rid the world of her existence or at least make her beg for forgiveness. But even in his state of rage, any thoughts of that notion weren't exactly comfortable - which only made him all the more angry.
He was used to people cowering when faced with his rage, begging for their lives. Her reaction had surprised him. It shouldn't have, really, her strength was one of the traits he fancied about her. First he thought it was just cowardice, that she held the belief he wouldn't harm her. But then again she seemed thoroughly afraid in the moments he'd taken her off guard. That was when he, even in his rage, took notice that her demeanor was far from a sign of cowardice but on the contrary, bravery. And even though he tried his best to avoid it he slowly felt his control slipping, and his emotions getting the best of him.
And now apparently he hadn't only lost every chance of engaging in hybrid production in the future, but also Caroline. And the worst of it all was that he hadn't even known he had her in the first place. Well he hadn't, really, but he had most definitely had her trust. She had seemed genuine when she said it, as if she was surprised by it herself.
And her face, the way she had looked at him, those little moments before she caught herself. It tore at his unbeating heart and he hated it. Perhaps the easiest way was to compel her to forget about the incident. It meant violating her trust again. He should be busy finding the real culprit but somehow he couldn't bring himself to get up from his sofa, he had already lost too much today. He continued sulking until the familiar fragrance of a certain perfume entered his nose. Caroline?
But when he turned his head to face the door the one standing there was none other than his baby sister.
Again, he was at her house, again in a state of distress. He gritted his teeth, he didn't like the way things had turned out. But apparently he had lost his sister, too, and he just couldn't take losing everything he'd ever cared about in one day. Now he was here, ready to wipe her memory despite the uneasiness he felt, both because of his previous actions and what he was about to do.
She'd already perceived his presence, he was sure of it. Hesitantly he entered. Unlike the last time she didn't come to meet him in the hallway. He heard a faint rustling up in her bedroom and flashed there quickly. She stood in the corner the farthest from the door, facing him. She held a makeshift stake in her hand, glowering at him as if she intended to kill him with her gaze.
He felt his mood lighten, her stance was really quite amusing, adorable even. Despite himself, a grin spread on his face. "You know that you can't kill me with that, love."
"Well, I was hoping that it would hurt," she spat at him, her gaze wary of his movements. His first impulse was to retaliate but then he halted. He had caused her to be this suspicious of him. As she had painfully vocalized he had strangled her at their last encounter. He gulped, trying to cope with the remorse. It promised to govern every single future interaction between them. Well, it was too late anyway.
"What else do you want, Klaus?" she asked.
He looked her over. She was glued to the corner of her room and he hated to be the one restricting her. He usually held no desire to treat people with respect but with Caroline it had always just come naturally to him. It had been quite refreshing actually. He felt the need to make it right, restore what could be saved and repair what was broken. He put on a serious expression, ridding his face of every trace of mirth, trying to connect with her, needing her to understand his intentions were honest. Except they weren't, but he pushed that to the back of his mind.
"I'm afraid I made a mistake today, sweetheart. And I am sorry it was you who had to bear the consequences."
"Yeah, that's where we left off. And after that I asked you to leave, remember?" She elevated her chin, her hand twitching around the piece of wood in her hand.
He gulped again, keeping himself from retaliating, it wouldn't help his case. This was going to be difficult. "You don't need to be afraid of me, love. I will not harm you. I promise."
She laughed hysterically. "Seriously?! And what part of your behavior should make me believe that? The fact that you broke into my house twice now, that you threatened to kill me or that you actually had your hand around my throat?"
He winced and closed his eyes. "I am sorry. Please just hear me out, Caroline."
He noted that she seemed to have relaxed for she was gesticulating wildly while talking, well, actually, yelling, the wariness having left both her gaze and her stance. "How about no! And by the way, even if you think you're doing better right now: You really aren't. You are forcing me into this situation with you right now, you don't care the least bit if I even want to hear what you have to say. So, no, I don't want to hear you out, I want you to leave and never return again!"
He tilted his head to one side and looked at her, his expression curious. "So you do believe me that I'm being honest here." He wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question but he now saw cracks in her mask and fully intended to work with that.
She gasped in indignation. "I did not say that!"
"You did, however, say that you trusted me," he asserted, his eyes searching hers.
For a second she seemed to have been caught off guard, looking almost as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. Then she blushed and looked away. "Well, you must have misheard me." And despite her obvious best efforts, she failed at keeping her voice at the same level of conviction and annoyance as before.
Why was he doing this? He should just get it over with and compel her. But somehow he felt drawn to confronting her about her previous statement. To see if there was hope left. He winced at that idea. He wasn't supposed to be this weak. He wasn't supposed to draw this out. But when he elevated his gaze back to her form he knew that he had lost the battle against himself. He wanted to push away the moment in which he had to break her trust again, but there also was a strange curiosity driving him to circle her further. He had lost everything anyway; there was no point in holding back.
"Why did you trust me, Caroline?" he asked, moving towards her, slowly, as if not to startle her.
She took a deep breath, her brows furrowed and then looked back up at him, tensing up again as she noticed him advancing towards her. She seemed to struggle with herself about what to do. Just a little push in the right direction…
"Why, Caroline? What is it that I have done that made you trust me?"
Now she gasped in annoyance. "Would you please, like, stop saying that? You make it sound like something it is not."
Standing only a few feet away from her he halted, crossing his arms. "Then tell me, love. What exactly isn't it? Or what is it, if you'd prefer answering that question."
"I prefer not answering any question. I'd prefer you to leave."
"Well then let me establish that I'm afraid I can't concur to your wishes in that matter. You will only draw this out longer if you keep on trying to evade my questions."
Now she was clearly more annoyed than scared, which he decided was a good sign. He'd slowly but surely lure her out of her defenses, pushing buttons until he had here where he wanted her. Now, where exactly was that? Well since he would compel her one way or another, he'd just see how far he could take it.
"I can't even believe this right now. What happened to you? I never thought you were such an ass." Suddenly a realization seemed to dawn on her and she shook her head in anger. "Of course I knew. You just fooled me into thinking that there was something good in you. Which I now know clearly isn't the case." With that she looked up at him again, defiant. Yet she hadn't quite succeeded in banning the doubts she had from her mind. He wouldn't let her.
"And how did I do that, love?" His tone of voice patient, waiting he kept pushing the same button. And surely enough, she snapped.
"Oh, I don't know! Maybe by saving my life two times, or telling me you fancied me, or by not killing me when I participated in trying to kill you?" Mentioning the last part clearly wasn't a smart move, which, judging her expression was something she realized as well.
He stiffened and clenched his teeth with his lips shut tight. Easy, this was not was he was here for. "I saved your life three times, sweetheart," he stated, his voice dry.
"Oh, please, if you did anything you saved me from yourself that day. I'm sure as hell not giving you any credit for that one."
"Then, what do you give me credit for?"
"Klaus, stop playing mind games with me! What do you want?" It seemed he had finally broken her defenses. Her tone of voice and stance was unnerved and desperate, the wariness was gone again.
Quickly he flashed forward until he stood only inches before her, her hand snapped up, trying to stake him but he caught her wrist without even breaking his gaze from hers. His pupils dilated and it was already too late when her eyes widened in realization. "What do you think I want?" he asked. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if you know yourself. But I think you want me to forgive you and give you a chance. Or you want to compel me, or… you want to hurt me," she answered, being forced into honesty.
He let out a sharp breath, keeping his pupils dilated. He was not ready to face her reaction to the fact that he had just compelled her, yet. "I am not going to hurt you, Caroline," he said, his voice low. He frowned at himself. "You are not going to hurt me," she repeated, her tone of voice empty, just as the expression on her face. In discomfort he broke away and closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth.
Suddenly he was overcome by a wave of what could only be called guilt. He was not used to this sensation and so she actually managed to surprise him and make him stumble a bit when she pushed him. "You son of a bitch! I hate you!" she screamed and when he looked at her face again there were tears in her eyes. He flinched again, losing control of his emotions. As if to hold onto something he grasped her shoulders.
"Caroline, look at me!" he pleaded. She frantically shook her head, her eyes pressed shut, her hands on in his chest, trying to push him away. "No, no, no!" she exclaimed, struggling against him, but he didn't move.
After a few seconds she finally calmed down, her breath heavy. She had her head lowered, her eyes still closed. She had managed to keep her tears at bay; the panic seemed to be subsiding. She gulped, then she spoke, calmly but a little shaken. "If you do this to me I will hate you forever."
"I am sorry, Caroline." His voice was broken and just as shaken as hers. Surprised she opened her eyes, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. She gasped when she saw the expression on his face, hurt and desperation barely contained. "But I have already lost too much today, I can't lose you, too."
"You never had me, Klaus," she said, but her voice was devoid of mischief or annoyance, it was almost soft.
His jaw tightened, as the softness in her voice calmed him down. He focused again and then, before she had a chance to even grasp what was happening his pupils dilated again. "Tell me what you think of me, Caroline," he said, his voice composed and tender.
She took a sharp breath and then started talking. "I should hate you, but I don't. You destroyed the lives of the people I love and continue to threaten all of us. And I just want peace, but the longer this craziness goes on, the more I think I am never gonna get it. And that is your fault and I hate you for it. But then again you showed me a part of yourself that you haven't shown any of my friends. And as much as I want to tell myself that it's not real… when you saved me from Alaric you just… the look on your face seemed so honest, I actually believed that you genuinely cared for me. But then you just went off and tried to kill my best friend again! It's just… I don't get what you want from me. You don't seem to respect anybody at all. Then again it's probably because of your messed up family-thingy. But for god's sake, you put them in coffins! I…" She took a deep breath and looked down.
"The worst thing of all is that if you'd met me a year ago I'd have fallen at your feet instantly with your fucking romantic drawings and presents and compliments. But now I'm not that person anymore and have Tyler, and…" Tears pooled in her eyes.
"I hate that you make me say this or even think this, because I haven't even admitted it to myself but I think despite everything I am falling for you a little." He gasped.
"And I absolutely hate you for this. I hate being compelled and I hate being disrespected. Don't you even think for one second that this changes anything. Even if you and me were the only people left on this planet I still would never forgive you for this." A single tear slid down her cheek as she looked right back at him. The expression in her eyes was nothing like the anger he had seen in them before, it was cold and definitive.
He lowered his heads towards hers until both of them could feel the breath of the other on their faces. Then he closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips onto hers, feeling her tense up. The sensation of her soft lips on his caused him to shiver and as he started kissing her in the most tender, careful way he deemed possible. Immediately he felt a pull in his chest, a combination of sweet rapture and tormenting regret taking over his senses as he felt her ease up in his arms and, despite herself, kiss him back. Both of them lingered in the moment that seemed to drag on for an eternity, before he finally broke away. He closed his eyes again and pressed his forehead to hers.
They stood there, silently and motionless, for a while. Then he opened his eyes and elevated his head. She opened hers, too and looked at him, sadness in her eyes. His eyes dilated.
"You are going to forget everything that happened between us today," he said, both his voice and expression devoid of all emotion.
And instant later he was gone.