Your mother warned you there'd be days like these..
Oh but she didn't tell you when the world has brought
You down to your knees that.,
I'll be there for you!
When the rain starts to pour,
I'll be there for you!
Like I've been there before,
I'll be there for you...
Caroline didn't remember falling asleep, but she woke up to the sound of knocking, or rather pounding, on the door. She was lying on the balcony, curled on the wooden bench with a blanket she had never retrieved lying over her, and the culprit who woke her was throwing her fit just below. "Klaus, dammit, open this door immediately!" Caroline froze, hand halfway through her blonde hair, and strained her ears, honing in on the sound of the voice. "Dammit, Klaus. Get, UP!"
Haley. Haley. What the hell was that low down, up town, slept with every guy around, pressed on eyelash, no good, white trash werewolf whore doing here? Caroline refrained from moving, and kept herself as silent as possible as she heard the front door creak and open, followed by the familiar footfalls of Klaus. "Keep quiet, Haley." He sneered, the door clicking shut behind him. "I have house guests over, not that you would know the meaning of consideration."
She heard the sharp intake of breath by Haley, followed by something close to a snarl. "Don't preach about consideration, not to me." Her heels clicked as she stepped closer, and Caroline assumed she was throwing her ugly maw into Klaus's face.
"What did you come here for, Haley?" His voice was flat, and reserved. The voice of the part of Klaus that no one particularly cared for.
She practically heard the werewolf roll her eyes as her heels clicked, signaling she was moving away from the Original hybrid. "Marcel wants to speak with you, about everything. He thinks it could be dangerous, meet him at noon."
"Where?"
"Mr. B's Bistro. Don't be late."
"Goodbye, Haley." He snarled, the door opening and closing behind him. Caroline heard a string of curses from Haley, before the werewolf girl was across the street and disappearing around the corner, leaving Caroline to nothing but her thoughts.
And she simply couldn't control those. What was all that even about? Who the heck was Marcel? And, more importantly, why was Klaus answering to him? She was left only seconds to mull it over before Klaus rapped lightly on the glass door leading to the balcony, and let himself out. "Good morning, love. Get dressed, I have an appointment, and it's an opportune time for you to meet some of the locale." He grinned, and she nodded, yawning.
"Marcel?"
"It's not polite to eavesdrop, Caroline." He smirked, and she shrugged, smiling back.
"Yeah, well, friends don't keep super ominous secrets from each other."
"Be ready in half an hour, Caroline." He grinned, then vanished back inside, creating a wake of air that tousled Caroline's blonde hair. She rose slowly, casting one last glance over the balcony, scanning for Haley, before deeming the bitch was gone and heading inside, riffling through the clothes she had packed.
Half an hour later, Caroline was dressed in a floral tank-top, jeans and wedges. A large purse was slung over her shoulder, filled with the little cash she had accumulated in Mystic Falls. If this town really was run by the dead, compulsion was not going to be possible, which she had to admit disappointed her a little. "Ready, love?" Klaus smiled, grabbing two tickets from the table near the door. "It's easiest to travel this town by bus."
They sat in the same seat, Klaus watching everyone who passed in the isle, Caroline starring out the windows, both a bit anxious on the meeting about to take place, neither willing to admit it. "Who is Marcel?" Caroline asked after a few minutes of the bus constantly stopping and letting people off.
Klaus looked to her out of the corner of his bright eyes, debating inwardly what to tell her, and what to keep to himself. "He's my dearest friend, and we hate each other immensely." He smirked, and Caroline rolled her eyes. "He is the undecided king of this town, having gathered a command in my absence. He is not a man who's bad side you want to be on."
"And you're just... Okay with that?" Her only reply was a smirk, and Klaus's eyes twisting forward for the remainder of the ride.
"Klaus, if isn't my main man!" They had barely stepped inside before a dark skinned vampire was at Klaus's side, gripping his hand and slamming together, patting the other's back for a brief second before pulling away. "I'm glad you could make it, brother. And who is this pretty little thing?" He smiled, brilliant and white, his soulful eyes turning to Caroline, who was still trying to process everything.
"Oh, um, I'm Caroline. Nice to meet you... Marcel?"
"The one and only." He smiled, winking as they shook hands.
Klaus cleared his throat after a moment, turning Marcel's attention back to him. "What is it you wish to speak with me about?"
"You just got here, Mikaelson. Enjoy yourself. Live a little." He smiled, having never let go of Caroline's pale hand. "You're new to the town. Let me show how the locals live a little." He grinned, winking again and pulling her with him, moving to where there was a collection of others dancing and drinking.
Her blue eyes looked briefly to Klaus, his expression set in a grim line, before she turned her attention to Marcel, smiling back at him. "Do what to I owe the honour of meeting you?" Marcel asked, spinning her lightly, grabbing a bottle of wine from a waitress, paying nothing but his brilliant smile.
Caroline felt herself flush as she rocked back and forth again, noting how often this town called for her to dance. And how much she loved it. "I just needed a change of scenery," She said, making her voice louder against the music. "And a good friend kept recommending New Orleans. It's not hard to see why!" She laughed, taking the drink from him, and taking a swig of it.
"Good friends? So it would be... Okay for me to tell you how beautiful you are, and offer to buy you a drink?" He smiled, and she nodded, blushing a bit. Her mind flicked briefly to Tyler, but even when she had told him to come back, he hadn't, and it had hurt more then she cared to admit. She wasn't going to worry about it, with a new town came a new start, and what better way to have fun then make friends with the man who practically built the place?
After a few minutes of dancing and getting to know each other (Caroline was a strawberry ice cream kind of girl, Marcel enjoyed soccer, Caroline's favorite colour was blue, Marcel enjoyed rain), Klaus made his way to them. "Marcel, we need to chat." He said flatly, stopping the other two in their tracks.
"We'll be right back." Marcel promised, winking at Caroline again, who scoffed a bit at his overly-flirtatious nature, and then the two disappeared.
But she wasn't having it. Blame her Mother who was naturally curious, or blame her Dad who was just plain nosy, but Caroline had to know what was going on. She followed silently, catching sight of them disappearing into a back room, and following to the door a few moments later. She sat on an empty barstool, trying to blend in, and focused her hearing.
"It's dangerous, Klaus. Very risky." Marcel spat, his voice laced with anger.
"It's beyond my realm of control, Marcel."
"No worries, I have a simple solution. Once it's here, we kill it."
Silence. The sound of breathing, she was nearly able to hear the mechanisms in the mens' brains' churning. "No." Klaus growled finally, animalistic and probably shaking with fury.
"The witches will do as I say, and I have told them to put a barrier around this town. No one comes in, no one goes out."
"The witches, they are your slaves now?"
"As is everyone here. They simply use 'slave' and 'friend' interchangeably." He grinned, taking a step towards Klaus, his footstep echoing. "It is dangerous, and it will be destroyed. Now, go. If you touch me, the witches are on call."
Caroline watched the door open, starring as Klaus stepped out, flashing to the bar. "Hello, beautiful." Marcel grinned, walking over to her.
"Caroline, we're leaving." Klaus growled, stepping up next to Marcel.
"Nonsense, the lady can stay. Can't you?" He grinned, out stretching his hand. Her eyes wavered from Marcel, brimming with confidence, to Klaus, who looked far less confident then she had ever seen him.
"I'm not feeling that well, actually. I think I might have had a little to much to drink." She grinned, catching the way Klaus's lips turned slightly upward as she stood next to him.
"Such a shame. I will see you soon, I promise." He grinned, flashing another wink, taking her hand and kissing it before seeing them both to the door.
"What the hell was that?" Caroline demanded, the second they stepped through the thresh hold into the apartment. "Who's dying? A town of slaves? Klaus, this is-"
"Why were you listening in?" He growled, spinning around, eyes slanted.
She crossed her arms. "Because you won't tell me anything that's happening, and you seem to think I'm too stupid to notice it's something important!"
"Of course I knew you'd realize, you're brilliant. But why did you listen?"
"Because you wouldn't tell me."
"It's not your problem."
"Klaus, you said you wanted to be friends. Friends help each other."
He stopped, fists clenched as his sides, muscles taut. He let a long sigh through his teeth, falling back onto the couch and patting the cushion next to him. She sat down, and their eyes met, though his quickly fell to his hands. "Caroline, I'm going to tell you what's happening, but you have to promise not to... "Freak out", okay?" He asked, looking back up to her again. She nodded silently, intrigued.
"Haley is pregnant. With my child."
Author's Note- Okay, okay, I know this is all sounding a bit Breaking Dawn-y, but I SWEAR it won't be ANYTHING like that. It's going to be about the town as well as the baby. Also, we don't really know much about Marcel, so I'm just making him up as I go. A few people were asking if I'd have Haley and the baby, and obviously you all know now that the answer is yes. ;) I want to keep this as cannon to the season finale as I can (minus Tyler, even though I love him!). I think that's all... Follows are loved, reviews are loved even more! Thanks so much for reading, I can't even begin to tell you how much it means to me that 80+ of you have followed this story in the first few days. I love you so much, and I appreciate you more then you can imagine. Carry on my wayward readers.(: (Also, Friends theme song, wutwut.)