Part 2
Klaus sits in the dark, twirling the piece of paper between his fingers, as he listens to Caroline sniffling in her sleep. She had fallen asleep on top of the covers still fully dressed, hugging her knees. He knows he's crossing yet another line right now, waiting in the dark like some hunter studying his prey, but he just will not risk having her slip away from him a second time when she is this close.
Her back is turned to him, so he can't see her face, but her intoxicating smell alone is enough to distract him from his impatience. He wants to talk to her already, to look into her eyes to ask what she's doing in New Orleans. He wants to see her smile again, to make her laugh. But she's only just fallen asleep, and it's going to be a few hours before he gets what he wants.
So he sits there, studying what he can see of her, what he can smell, what he can hear from her. Her wavy blonde hair looks windblown and smells like lavender, as usual. She is wearing black boots, blue jeans and a dark jacket. Aside from her usual vanilla body wash, he can also smell her tears, salty and everywhere, as they dry up on her cheeks and on the covers. Her breathing sounds labored, her heart beating extra hard to accommodate for it. And again, the sniffling. Every once in a while, she mumbles something in her sleep, but he can't make out anything.
Without even thinking about it, he places the piece of paper in his hand inside his jacket pocket, and reaches for the notepad and pencil sitting on the table next to him. He starts drawing her again, curled up on the lumpy motel bed, back looking rigid and uncomfortable. He pays close attention to the slopes and curves of her body, the way her hair splays out over the pillows, and even the creases on her old worn-out jacket. He had always drawn Caroline from memory, never having the chance to sit down and study her as closely as he does now.
After a while, he senses her starting to wake up and suddenly feels a little apprehensive. He knows Caroline heard his conversation with Hayley, he isn't looking forward to explaining any of that. But what he is truly nervous about is finding out her reason for being in the city in the first place.
He watches as she slowly unfurls from her position, sitting on her ankles, arms reaching towards the headboard, then pulling down and stretching like a cat. He can't help the smile on his face as his eyes travel appreciatively down her body.
As she sits up in bed, he finds himself moving his head a little, hoping to catch a glimpse of her face before she realizes that he's in the room with her. He sees part of her profile, her hair covering most of it, and he feels a stab of pain in his chest at what he sees. Dear sweet Caroline, whose face usually looks like the sun breaking from the horizon, looks unbelievably sad. He'd seen her close to death on more than one occasion, but she's never looked this hurt. Her eyes, her nose, even her mouth are swollen and red.
If he'd ever doubted whether there was beauty in sadness, however, the sight of Caroline in the morning after she'd cried herself to sleep just chased those doubts away.
He wishes for a brief moment that he could read her mind, as she sits there, staring off into space, brow furrowed as if in concentration. Finally, she makes an irritated sound, then flops back down on the bed, making Klaus smile again.
"Right," she mutters, before rolling off the bed and heading for the dresser across the small room. He watches her rummage through her overnight bag while studying her reflection, and then their eyes meet in the mirror.
"What the hell?" she gasps, turning around and looking at him accusingly. "What are you doing here, you creep?"
Turns out, he doesn't need telepathy to read her thoughts. Without taking his eyes off her face, he moves his head slightly to the left to avoid the brush that goes flying straight for his head, and catches it with his hand.
"I could ask you the same question, love," he answers, playing with her pink hairbrush.
"What?" she asks distractedly, making the smile on Klaus' face grow even wider. She looks genuinely surprised at seeing him, and he doesn't miss the way she clenches her fists at her sides. "How long have you been here?"
"Again, I could ask the same of you," he replies, knowing full well that his cheekiness will not help him right now.
"Yeah?" she snaps, crossing her arms angrily and leaning back against the dresser. "Well, I asked you first. Besides, you're the one who snuck in my room like some creepy stalker in a Stephenie Meyer novel."
For a moment she's lost him, and he can feel the stupid look on his face. "I'm sorry, who?"
"Never mind," she says, shaking her head impatiently. "Just answer my question."
"To answer your first question, I'm here because I had a feeling that you were leaving New Orleans without so much as a hello my way."
"Oh, like the way you left Mystic Falls without saying goodbye?" she mutters, before dropping her head and playing with her hair.
Klaus isn't sure if she meant for him to hear that. He isn't even sure if he did hear that.
"I'm kidding," she chuckles humorlessly, and Klaus knows he heard right. And his heart grows three sizes at that moment.
"Right," he answers, biting his lip to keep from grinning stupidly. "And I've been here since you fell asleep."
"How did you even find me?" she demands.
"Now now," he says, raising his finger in a mock reprimand. "I've answered your questions, and now it's only fair that you answer mine. What are you doing in New Orleans, Caroline?"
He watches her fidget uncomfortably before turning around to go through her bag again. "Thought it was Mardi Gras?" she tries unconvincingly.
He hates the small distance between them, especially now that she's put up all the old walls he'd worked so hard to break down before. In a flash, he is standing behind her, perhaps too close, but he's never been known for his restraint or patience.
"Caroline," he whispers in her ear. He watches as small goosebumps raise the minuscule hairs on her neck, making him smile.
"Fine!" she snaps, twirling around suddenly so that her face is now inches from his.
He can finally look at her beautiful face upclose, his blue eyes searching the small flecks of gold in her green ones. He swallows as his eyes travel down to her swollen lips, and he has to fight the urge to grab her face and kiss her right then and there.
"Your stupid voicemail got me all curious and confused and I thought coming here and seeing you and talking to you will help me clear things up, but that's obviously not gonna' happen now, so yeah, I was leaving the city without saying hello!"
Whatever he thought she'd say, it wasn't that, nor did he expect her to be so angry about it. They stare at each other for what feels like hours, Klaus with his surprised expression, Caroline struggling to catch the breath she doesn't even need.
"And I got here last night," she adds finally, visibly releasing the tension that has built on her shoulders since she woke up that morning.
"And leaving already?" he asks, taking her hand to place her small brush in it. "You haven't even seen the city, love."
"Yeah, well," she stammers, looking uncomfortably at their hands. "I'm already missing school today and I'm sure my mom isn't too pleased with me right now for leaving town with only a note."
"Oh, come now," he chuckles. "We both know you've earned enough credits to graduate valedictorian twice already. You're going to ace your finals. Let me show you the city."
"No, Klaus," she answers forcibly, snatching her hand from his clasp. "I'm going home to my friends and family. You go back to yours."
The accusation in that last word hangs heavy in the air, confirming Klaus' fear that she did indeed hear his conversation with Hayley at the bar last night.
She turns back to her bag, taking out things and putting them back in, unable to decide what to do. The tension is back in her shoulders, and Klaus longs to fix things, but has no idea how. He also has no idea why he's reaching for her right now, and he holds his breath as his hand makes contact with her arm.
"Caroline, love," he whispers, frustrated. He watches through the mirror as Caroline closes her eyes and freezes at his touch. She seems to be counting as she steadies her breath.
When she opens her eyes, they no longer look angry, but defeated. Even her shoulders slump when she speaks. "Please, Klaus. I can't. I ca-.. I just can't anymore."
"Let me at least explain," he finds himself saying, turning her around to face him again as his hands grip her arms. His eyes study her face, and he hates that he had anything to do with the sadness that's now replaced the beautiful smile he'd always loved.
"Explain what?" she asks, smiling sadly. "There's nothing to explain, Klaus. We were never anything. We never will be."
And for the first time, he genuinely fears that there is truth in those words. Over the course of the year, he'd slowly chipped away at the shell she'd worn around him, and he had truly believed that she would one day give this a chance, no matter how much she'd denied his effect on her. If this is it, he thinks, furrowing his brows and gathering his courage, he's gonna' go all in and go for the kiss.
But then, she turns her head away and clenches her eyes tight. "Don't," she whispers.
"What?" He chuckles. The moment's passed. "What are you doing, love?"
He watches amusedly as she opens one eye to peek up at him, and then visibly relaxes when she sees him smiling down at her. And then she actually giggles.
"I thought you were going to compel me or something," she says, and he feels disgusted that she actually thinks he could stoop to compelling her to love him.
He releases her arms quickly and takes a step back, realizing how much he is encroaching on her personal space. "Caroline, love, I would never do that to you."
She swallows and avoids his eyes. "Wouldn't be the first time someone compelled me to stay, so I thought—" she mumbles.
"No, I wouldn't. I couldn't do that to you," he says, cutting her off. Briefly, he feels rage at the thought of someone compelling her to do something she doesn't want to do, but he has no idea who to direct the anger at. He'll find out soon enough. "If you were going to stay, I'd like for it to be your own choice, for it to be what you truly want."
"Okay," she answers, finally sounding convinced. "So, you and Hayley, huh?"
He's so taken aback by her question that he chokes on air, and he watches as she turns around and buries her face in her hands. He's thankful for that, because he is able to reassemble his expression before she speaks again.
"Never mind, don't answer that."
"No, I want to," he says, pulling her hands down from her face and looking into her eyes through the mirror. "There is no Hayley and I, trust me. It was one night, one time. Bad judgment and alcohol were involved. A lot of alcohol was involved."
She looks back at him, clearly trying to make up her mind whether to believe him or not, until the corner of her mouth slowly twitches into a small smile. He squeezes her hands briefly before releasing them and stepping back again.
"And now…" she starts to say, but bites her lower lip instead, turning back around to face him.
"Yes?" he asks, eyes drawn to her perfect mouth. "Go on."
"Now, you're going to be a father." It isn't a question, he realizes. She says it like she's just checking what it feels like to say it. "This is a trip."
"I'd really rather not talk about that now, love," he says, running his hand through his hair. "What do you say, can I show you around the city?"
"No, that's okay, Klaus," she answers, smiling at him before turning to her bag again and taking out a small pouch. "I saw some of it last night, and I really can't stay any longer. I have a 13 hour drive ahead of me, and I better get going."
"You drove here?" he asks, incredulously. "Why? You could've flown."
"This is going to sound stupid, but I wanted to give myself a chance to back out in case I changed my mind."
"Is that why you didn't call me immediately when you got here?" he asks, watching as she pulls out bottles and tubes from the small bag in her hand. "I'd have met you here, you know."
"Yeah," she starts absentmindedly. "I wasn't even going to go out, I wanted to sleep and find you in the morning, but the city sounded so alive outside my window. I never thought I'd see you right away."
"Have lunch with me," he says suddenly. "Please. I want to take you to my favorite spots here."
She laughs, looking at him and shaking her head. "What part of '13 hour drive' can't you understand?"
"I'll book you a flight in the afternoon, and we'll send someone to drive your car back to Mystic Falls. You'll get there before it does."
She laughs, clearly thinking that he's just made a joke. When she looks at him and sees his expression, she raises her eyebrows at him.
"Seriously?" she asks, chuckling. "Have you managed to sire more hybrids in the last couple of days?"
That makes him laugh. "I've managed perfectly fine without hybrids for hundreds of years, love. I still have people working for me."
"Compelled?" she asks, genuinely curious.
"No," he laughs, sitting down on the bed and looking up at her. "What is it with you and compulsion?"
"Nothing," she answers, and he can feel her closing up again, so he quickly changes the subject.
"So, what do you say? Let me show you the city?"
"Fine," she relents, throwing a tube of toothpaste at him. He lets it hit him this time, and it falls on his lap. "Only because I really liked what I saw of the city last night."
"Sure," he smiles, handing the toothpaste back to her. "Only because of that."
She rolls her eyes at him as she snatches the tube from his hand and starts for the bathroom. "I need a shower first, though. Come back after an hour."
He nods and gets up from the bed. "You know, you could take a shower at my place. I'm sure it's much more sanitary."
"Tempting," she chuckles, already inside the small bathroom. "But no."
He laughs as she closes the door on him. Reaching inside his jacket, he takes out the rolled up piece of paper and puts it inside her bag. As he is about to leave, he sees the notepad on the table and tears the paper with his drawing of her from the pad, folds it and places it inside his jacket. His day has just gotten a lot better.
A/N: As always, reviews/comments are welcome and much appreciated.