AN: Just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that favourited & followed this story and left a comment - the overwhelming response from you guys is what makes me eager to update quicker! :) Sending y'all virtual cupcakes :)
Just want to highlight that this story will digress from the original TVD plotline in the coming chapters but I promise there will be plenty of Klaroline. This chapter was inspired by NKOTB's song 'Fighting Gravity' off their new record '10' (I suggest you pre-order it now - the track just defines Klaroline's relationship so much!)
Anyway, enjoy! :) (and don't forget to comment!)
4. Fighting Gravity
She hadn't seen Klaus in weeks; she avoided him at all costs, including leaving herself out of any group meetings regarding the cure. She guessed the separation would help keep her anger tamed. After tearing up the note she found that night, she swore to herself that she would rise above it and not let it get to her; for Tyler's sake. Surprisingly, it was going rather well.
Elena was still running around trying to keep everything cool between her, Stefan and Damon after Caroline accidentally spilled to Stefan. Of course, Elena hated Caroline for it but she got over it. And then of course, Rebekah had to stroll back into town, grating on Caroline's nerves even further. And now, the hunt for the cure was in full motion. Creepy professor Shane had instructed a trip to the desolate island off the coast of Nova Scotia to go find the cure the day after tomorrow. Which meant the much anticipated school decade dance Caroline had been planning for the past couple of weeks was tonight. Talk about last minute.
She found herself in the gym, aiding some other students in putting up the decorations and getting everything ready.
"No Derek, I said those banners need to go up at the entrance, not in the middle of the hall!" Caroline ordered, sighing frustrated. How hard could it be to follow a set of instructions, she asked herself irritatedly.
"And Emma, my grandma could blow up more balloons than you in a minute – get a move on!" Caroline sighed exasperatedly, crossing off things off her checklist.
"Some things just never change." A catty voice disturbed her from behind. She didn't have to turn to see who it was. "Look's like you're at the helm of yet another dance that's about to go disastrously wrong." the annoying voice chimed. Caroline sniggered, dropped the clipboard down from her nose and turned around frustratedly.
"A dance you're ever so eager to go to I bet to tune in with your non-existent humanity. Too bad you're not invited." Caroline said sourly, giving Rebekah a not-so-welcome smile, Rebekah stood up straight, her amusement slightly disorientated.
"Oh, I don't need an invite, just try and keep me out" Rebekah challenged. Caroline laughed.
"I won't waste my energy. After all, keeping up with these false pretences is as close you'll get to humanity. You've got no chance with the cure." Caroline spat through her teeth, a smirk playing on her lips when she saw Rebekah's reaction. Looks like I'm getting under the original Blondie's skin, finally, Caroline thought to herself, amused.
"What does my brother see in you?" Rebekah replied after a moment, inspecting Caroline top-to-toe.
Caroline gave another exasperated sigh before laughing once again and getting back to checking things off her clipboard. She wasn't going to let this bee with an itch get under her skin.
"I mean, you have no redeeming qualities, you're just a bitter, lonely, little girl who's stuck as being everyone's afterthought." Rebekah stated, comically. Caroline just ignored her, trying really hard to focus on anything else apart from her urge to snap the original cow's head off. "I mean, I heard Tyler left you." Rebekah continued and Caroline's head snapped up.
"Don't." Caroline spat through her teeth.
Rebekah's grin grew bigger as she took Caroline's firm reaction as the go-ahead to test her further. "I don't blame him, after all, there's nothing here for him." Rebekah started to circle around Caroline, looking at her despicably, "I guess him being on the run from my brother means he'll be able to explore some of the world before Nik finally tracks him down and puts him out of misery. I mean, let's face it." Rebekah spoke into Caroline's ear, "he'll see more of the world than you'll ever see" she laughed. And that's when Caroline couldn't bite her tongue any further. She dropped the clipboard and slammed Rebekah into the gymnasium wall. She didn't care that her classmates all stood around, in awe.
"Don't you dare say another word about Tyler." Caroline's voice was ice.
Rebekah laughed at Caroline's feeble, anger-fuelled attempt to hurt the original and flung her grip off her in a swish moment. "Or what?" she challenged further.
"Leave her alone Rebekah", it was Stefan.
Rebekah stood up straighter, her comical facial expectations turning ice as she gave Caroline a dark glare. "Awh, but I was only getting started" she cried musingly.
"Don't you have other places to be?" Stefan asked Rebekah and Rebekah shot him a glance and her icy façade dropped.
"You're right; I should go get ready for tonight" she chimed. Caroline continued to give her the biggest dark glare she could manage as she pictured tearing Rebekah's head. 'Have at it' Klaus would say. Ugh, why did I mention his name, she thought.
Rebekah walked up to Stefan before turning to give Caroline a smirk. "Pick me up at eight?" she teased and Caroline's eyes grew wider.
"Wait, you're going with him?" she spluttered and Rebekah's smile grew wider. "You're going with him?" she asked Stefan and Stefan grimaced, knowing exactly what Caroline was thinking. He didn't say anything and let Rebekah shoot Caroline one last winning look at Caroline before leaving.
"See you tonight" she called as she left.
Caroline huffed, eyeing Stefan for an explanation.
"Care to explain yourself?" she asked.
He glanced down, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"It's…complicated" he finally said, walking up toward her.
"No it isn't" she bit back, "this isn't a Facebook status inquisition; this is Rebekah. I thought you were going to try and fix things with Elena? Not accompany one of the town's monsters to the school dance." Stefan opened his mouth to say something but Caroline's eyes grew wider, "Wait – you were supposed to take me!" she whined, sudden realisation hitting her.
Stefan's face overcame with guilt. Of-course eh was supposed to take her; they had agreed to it a week ago, after he consoled her when she had another meltdown over Tyler. After all, they were both left dateless.
"I'm sorry Caroline. But it's not what it seems." He glanced around. "I'm only taking her to try and get the stake off her." Caroline's eyes widened. Stake? What stake? What for?
Taking Caroline's surprised reaction, Stefan continued. "I'm going to try and get the stake and give it to Elena so she and Jeremy can kill Kol and finish Jeremy's tattoo." Caroline nodded, understandingly. Guess this plan is what she missed out on when she decided to separate herself from anything to do with a certain original monster.
"What about Matt?" Stefan asked and Caroline gave him a blank look. "What about him?" she asked.
"Can't he be your date tonight?" he asked. Caroline breathed out a sigh and pulled her clipboard up.
"Matt's working tonight." she said begrudgingly, pretending the twinge of hurt in the pit of stomach wasn't there.
Stefan reached out his hand and rubbed Caroline's shoulder.
"You'll be fine Caroline. I'm sure you'll find someone for tonight. If not, you could always help me steal Rebekah's stake?" he said, a pang of guilt going through him, hoping she would be okay. After all, in the pandemonium that was the love-triangle between him, Damon and Elena, learning of Tyler's fate wasn't the easiest distraction especially when he knew how broken up Caroline was. He wished he could accompany her.
Caroline laughed, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll see what Bonnie's up to" she agreed.
Stefan left and Caroline went back to distracting herself by ordering everyone about.
Tonight was one dance she wasn't looking forward to. Maybe it would be a disaster like Rebekah said. She half-hoped it would be so she could leave early and spend the night crying into her pillow after leaving Tyler another voicemail, just like she past couple of weeks.
"Looks really good Caroline!" Elena encouraged as they both got a drink.
"Thanks. Where's Damon?" Caroline asked.
Elena's eyes slightly widened, Caroline rarely asked about Damon – she still wasn't happy with them pairing up after Elena's transition. "He's uh—somewhere" Elena answered looking around. And then - speak of the devil - Damon appeared, surprising Elena with kisses. Caroline tried to keep her drink down, looking away from their PDA. It made her physically sick. And it was because it reminded her of what she and Tyler should have been doing; what she and Tyler could've been doing right now.
And then the iconic song of the eighties sent the entire room into a frenzy.
"Bon Jovi! This is our song!" Damon called eagerly over the loud commotion. Elena laughed, throwing her head back as she let Damon drag her onto the dance floor. They began dancing manically – busting a move, here, there, everywhere and Caroline couldn't help but laugh. Then she caught Stefan, at the other end of the room; looking at Elena longingly. He glanced at Caroline giving her a small smile before Rebekah came into the picture. No, Caroline thought, that was Stefan and Lexi's song.
She took another swig of her drink and started circling the room. This was going to be a long night, she thought. Where was Bonnie and Jeremy? She made her way to the back of the hall; that's when she heard her name being called.
"Caroline" she heard from behind. She didn't have to turn to know who it was. It had been weeks. She had avoided him for weeks and now the time had finally come for the rude awakening. She started faster for the back of the hall, for the exit. She heard him call her name again.
"Caroline, can we talk" he said again, this time grabbing her hand softly. She flinched almost instantly, remembering the last time she felt that touch and he half-jumped with her, shocked that he had hurt her.
"There's nothing left to say", she said abruptly, glancing back at him. For the fraction of a second that their eyes met, Klaus saw the hurt he had truly inflicted upon her. Before he could say another word, her back was turned and she was on the other side of the exit door.
He stood, frozen. The implications of the actions he took the night of the Winter Wonderland finally sinking in for him.
He had truly hurt her.
And there was nothing he could do to make it up to her.
He was angry at himself even that night after he had treated her the way he had. It should've been Tyler who should've received that treatment, not Caroline.
He sat at the make-shift 80's bar whilst waiting for her to return, ordering himself drinks. He didn't go after her before because he didn't want to push her. The look in her eyes put him off. It had been weeks since he'd seen her last. His memory had done no justice to her perfect beauty; the beauty that was somewhat non-existent in her sad, hurt-filled, vacant eyes. The beauty that defined her was hidden under all her hurt. And it was all because of him. He'd make it his mission to get that beauty back, to get that radiance back, to get that light he so craved back.
He took a forceful swig of his drink as his eyes finally fixated on her making rounds around the room. She was doing what she always did; welcoming everyone and making everyone feel comfortable and at ease – something she rarely received.
He truly hated himself for what he had done. The last few weeks were hell; not seeing her was punishment for what he had done. But he couldn't keep away. No. Even though it was a viable punishment to distance himself away from her, he couldn't keep to it; she was like a drug to him and he couldn't live without a constant dose. So that's why every other night, he stood outside her bedroom window, watching her cry herself to sleep after leaving the dreadful Tyler the umpteenth message on the answer machine.
He didn't regret chasing him away. No, he believed he did the right thing; Tyler was no good for her. He only regretted hurting Caroline in the process. He wouldn't go after Tyler, not now knowing when doing so would only cause Caroline more hurt.
But he just wanted to go back and undo everything that night. He wanted to start over. He wanted to talk to Caroline again. He wanted the teasing, the distraction, the chase and the captivating lightness in her heart back. It seemed absence did make the heart grow fonder. Or in Klaus' cause, he couldn't fight the gravity anymore; he wanted so much to be in her company again. She had an undeniable hold on him; one he couldn't refute however times she had fooled him or hurt him. He couldn't stop what he felt inside of him; the feeling and passion was too deep; it was bigger than him. It engulfed him and turned him into a different person. She had changed him; that was unquestionable. But his temptation to fall back into his old tracks was his biggest weakness. A weakness that might have cost him her.
He continued watching her as she talked to her fellow classmates. She was lonely tonight.
The smile she smiled wasn't the same. It didn't reflect light, it wasn't honest. There was a thin layer of hurt behind it. Hurt he had caused. And he hated himself for it.
The dance began and he watched as a young male tapped her shoulder and asked for a dance.
She didn't even blush like she normally did when he'd normally take her hand. She tried to hesitate, giving that smile of hers but the boy was consistent. And finally, they were hand in hand, dancing and talking quietly.
Klaus thought back to the time when that was her and him. The decade dance last year. It was a similar scenario, she wasn't fond of him then but it saddened him that after all this time they'd spent together, he managed to ruin and undo everything. Every bittersweet moment.
He would do everything in his power to make everything right, he thought.
He drank the last of his drink and pulled away from the bar.
Caroline was laughing as he approached, it looked sincere.
"Excuse me" he said and the look on Caroline's face was pure shock. Hadn't he done enough?
It was surprising that Klaus didn't have to compel the boy, he was agreeable when Klaus smiled at him and simply said, "May I".
The boy simply let go of Caroline's hands and stepped away.
"No" Caroline said through her teeth, pulling the boy back to her.
Klaus looked alarmed, "Caroline, please, let's not do this now" he said, a sense of urgency in his voice as a few people around them speculated.
"No. Let's", she said but this time, the boy hesitated, stepping backwards, arm sup in the air; surely frightened of Klaus' stance.
"No, its okay," he said, he looked back at Klaus, "It's fine" he said, slowly walking back into the crowd.
Caroline was fuming. She didn't want to dance with him; she wasn't going to dance with him.
"Just leave me alone Klaus," she said, fighting her traitor tears and turned around.
Before she could go too far out in the crowd, Klaus caught her hand, gently, and swung her back and within an instant; she was out of breath, in his clutch, her right hand lightly on his chest. She simply took his breath away in that instant. The way she carelessly swung back into his arms without any control, the way her golden curls swept away from her beautifully featured face; it truly captivated him. It was in that fraction of a second that he finally caught a glimpse of the life and light she resembled; something he hadn't seen for weeks.
Their eyes met as did their faces, mere centimetres apart just like that night. Only this time, Klaus' face wasn't blood red; it was inviting, calm and a little scared.
"Please Caroline, just one dance?" he asked softly.
Caroline readjusted herself before looking around her. There were twice as many eyes on them now.
She gulped down her pride and anger and every warning that crept up in her mind and didn't meet his eyes before she gave him her right hand. With a small smile, he enveloped his free hand around her waist loosely. A small shiver went through her spine and he sensed it, he loosened up a little more. Everything she felt the last time had had touched her sparked up inside her; all her senses were heightened and her chest closed up; anticipating a similar reaction to the last time. He sensed it too the way she guarded herself, the way her eyes wandered everywhere but at him, the way she tried to keep a short distance between them but somewhat failed.
They didn't talk for a while. Caroline's eyes wandered around the room. Klaus' eyes were fixated on her, her face, her expression and how magnificently dazzling she looked tonight – as always – but of course, it was all different. The way she held herself, the way she put up an act to hide her true feelings. The way she seemed on edge; ready to bolt when the opportunity showed itself. She was heartbroken over Tyler of course, he knew it. And he was the reason.
"I'm sorry." he finally said after a moment.
Caroline didn't respond, but it took her by surprise. She just took a deep breath and carried on looking at anything but him. She could feel his eyes on her. Her mind wandered back to the note she shredded to pieces. The two words sent flames through her body. They held no meaning for her anymore. After all, they were only words; they couldn't go back and change the past and bring back Tyler. The damage was done. It was too little, too late.
"Caroline…" he began and Caroline took another breath,
"I have nothing to say to you Klaus." she interrupted coldly, her eyes meeting his and she tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her go.
"But I do." he replied, his eyes trying to find hers.
"I've heard what you've had to say Klaus. You're sorry." she laughed once out of growing anger, looking at him, "I saw the note. I've heard you say it out aloud but do you know what; it doesn't change a thing. You're still a monster." She paused, taking a breath and looking at him for what he was. "That's never going to change" She finalised before putting all her strength in pulling away from him successfully. He didn't even bother fighting to keep her in his grasp. He just let her walk away. After all, what she had said was true. It was no lie that he was a monster. What more could he say? He just stood there, stunned, his heart endlessly aching for what it most craved.
Her traitor tears stung her eyes, threatening to spill like usual. Resisting the urge to sprint away, she made it a few steps away from him, near the edge of the crowd when three simple words stopped her short. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart froze mid-beat and she felt everything around her go slow motion, blurring into nothingness.
"I love you." he said, his voice just loud enough for her to hear in the midst of the loud music and chatter.
Thank you SO much for taking the time out and reading. I really hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing this chapter :) Please let me know what you thought and if you have any suggestions, feel free to suggest away in a comment :)