Hello Fans of this story. I want to apologize for re-posting the first chapter instead of the third. And I do not know if this has happened to any of my fellow authors out there but after I posted Monday's chapter I have not been able to find the story in the list on either the mobile site or the regular site. I'm hoping that changes when I post this chapter today. I've been checking my email and noticed the new favorites and followers and I would like thank them now. Enjoy the Klaroline.
Chapter 4: First Encounters
Klaus Mikaelson had had enough of his younger brother for the night and had decided to go for a walk. As he walked by the living room he saw that Elijah and Kol were deep in conversation. 'Well, at least I will be rid of my Kol problem soon enough,' Klaus thought, his back stiffening and his eyes narrowing. Neither of his brothers seemed to notice him slip out the front door and walk out into the night.
He wandered aimlessly for a bit before he found himself nearing Mystic Falls High School. 'Now, why would I want to waste more of my precious time on this ground,' Mid-thought he heard the sounds of young girls' voices. They were chattering happily about something only Rebekah would seem to take pleasure in these days. He had been remiss this last year in allowing Elijah and Rebekah to influence his plans.
It seemed as if he was losing his touch. He had allowed Elijah to convince him that he needed to plan more carefully how he would capture the doppelgänger and break this bloody curse. He growled in frustration. What was worse was Rebekah's sudden desire to have a "normal" life. It seemed that his little sister had grown tired of immortality and wanted to go to high school. She wanted friends, boys and dances. It made him sick to watch his sister putting on this show. Their existence was a gift.
Unfortunately, that was not what she wanted at the moment. She wanted to be like the girls he was listening to. It would be his pleasure to suck each of these useless little humans dry. He moved swiftly toward the football field, not at vamp speed because he wanted to take his time with these three stupid girls. It was not until he was at the end of the bleachers that he realized that he was staring at the doppelgänger and her friends.
That would be his luck. Whereas, he could simply move in, suck her friends dry and compel her to forget his being there, he couldn't. It was not because he was afraid of the young Bennett witch, who had yet to tap into her powers. It was, in fact, the blond who was currently doing cartwheels. Her yellow sundress fell down reveling a taught pale stomach and pale pink panties. She was now doing a head stand with a gigantic smile on her face as her friends shook their heads, laughing. He found himself chuckling at Miss Forbes' antics. The first time he had encountered the girl was eleven months and twenty-five days ago. He had not been in a pleasant mood when Rebekah had called him and informed him that he needed to come and pick her up from school. "Dear sister, as much as the thought of being surrounded by a mass of hormones and angst, I would rather not." He smirked, while holding the phone to his ear.
"Nik, could you do this very small thing for me," Rebekah's voice had lowered audibly.
Klaus was frowning now. "Have you tried asking Elijah or maybe one of the girls you seem to be hanging out with lately. Perhaps the lovely, Miss Elena Gilbert." The idea of the doppelgänger giving his sister a ride home from school made him smile.
Rebekah was pouting on her side of the line. "Elijah is busy doing something and none of the girls are willing to do anything for me thanks to that little bitch, Caroline Forbes. Let alone your little obsession, Elena."
Klaus ran a hand down his face in frustration. "Fine, I will do this. This time, Bekah." He hung up after hearing her squeal of delight.
It did not take him long to arrive on the grounds of Mystic Falls High. However, his sister was not waiting for him outside. He had assumed she would be and he did not relish the thought of moving through the waves of young humans. His ears perked up when he heard something that sounded like his sister coming from one of the buildings. He quickly found himself entering the auditorium in which a group of young people were decorating the walls and ceiling.
He suddenly heard a voice shouting at the young people and they suddenly began moving quicker. "No, no, no. Tyler and Matt, I said the drinks table had to be close to the right wall, not flush against it. Am I supposed to do it, myself?" The girl in question was wearing a short, black hip hugging skirt, a turquoise tank top, with a little form fitting white jacket on. Her hair bounced in light waves and her eyes were made larger by her look of exasperation as she looked on at the scene before her. "God," she muttered, placing her hand on the back of her neck, "if they ruin this I'm going to kill them all."
Klaus could not help the smile that spread across his face. This mere girl had a fiery temper. And he enjoyed watching another born leader in action. That was before he noticed his sister sitting dejectedly attempting to paint some sort of decoration. His sister may have many talents but painting was not one of them. "Bekah," he said under his breath, knowing that she could hear him.
She looked up and began to stand and leave, but he shook his head. She sat back down pouting. "We will come back later and I will finish the decorations for you. How does that sound, love." She barely contained the happy grin which spread across her face.
The young beauty was now strolling around the room inspecting everyone's work. As she swept past Klaus he resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. She and Rebekah exchanged a quick word. Soon, Rebekah was walking away from the conversation with a dark look. "Let's go, Nik," she demanded, grabbing his shirt sleeve and pulling him with her. "I am going to kill Caroline Forbes. She is an absolutely horrid person."
"Hmm," Klaus said thinking of the blonde in the auditorium. "Who is this Caroline, you speak of with such fondness?" Klaus asked linking his fingers behind his back as he followed his sister, who was storming through the groups of teens, who had yet to vacate.
"She was the blonde with a big mouth. She thinks she's the boss of every one she encounters. Oh, Nik, I have to kill her. She is driving me crazy. And she is preventing me from bonding with the other girls." She turned to see that her brother was frowning at his feet. She stared at him trying to decipher what the look on his face meant. "Oh God. Oh Nik, you wouldn't. Not her of all people."
His head snapped up and he starred at his sister in bewilderment, cocking his head to the side. "Bekah, what are you talking about?"
She whirled around and was in front of him in seconds. "You like her. You saw her once and already she is in your head." She turned around, stomping toward the car. "My brothers and their bloody women."
Klaus watched his sister walk away. She was wrong. He had no interest in a human. The only human he was interested in was Elena and that was only because she would be instrumental in breaking his curse after centuries. No, he most certainly did not like Caroline Forbes. Although, she was pretty.
Klaus found that he could not take his eyes off the young woman as she began to dance around the field. She pulled each of her friends to their feet and they began to do an impromptu dance routine. He found himself climbing the bleachers and taking a seat in the back so that he could watch the blonde. She seemed to be full of life. Her cheeks were glowing a flushed pink and she was beaming. He knew that he had to capture her in this moment.
He pulled the bag he had brought with him up to his side and removed his sketch pad. He began to draw Caroline as he had seen her a moment ago, her head tossed back in laughter. He was so focused on his work that he did not notice the orange blossoms perfume and steady heartbeat making its way up the bleachers. He became aware of her presence when she was three rows from him. This was quite an achievement for any creature, to be able to sneak up on Klaus Mikaelson, but it was due to his concentration on the sketch. He did not still in his movements waiting for her to make the first move.
"Hi," Caroline said, she was sitting on the bleacher in front of the one he was sitting on. She swung her legs so that she was in his personal space. She only tucked her feet in so that she could place her head on her knees. She was grinning up at him. For the first time in a thousand years Klaus was shocked. He was not shocked that this human girl was sitting in front of him with an air of openness he not had experienced in a very, very long time. No, he assumed this was due to her not knowing that he was a vampire. What shocked him were the emotions that he felt looking at this girl.
Caroline giggled at this man looking down at her like he did not know what to make of her. No man had looked at her the way he was looking at her, right now. She had spotted him with his sketch book and decided that she needed to know what mystery guy was sketching so intensely at this time of the evening. "So," she said, attempting to peek at his sketch. "You're an artist?" It was less a question and more a statement of fact.
Klaus snapped out of his haze and leaned back against the bleacher placing the sketch pad two bleachers behind him. He turned back to the girl with the big blue eyes. "Yes, I am," he stated this with a smirk. He leaned slightly toward Caroline watching as her eyes lit up. "And you are an extraordinary young woman, who is going to change the world one day." He sat back in satisfaction as her cheeks turned pink again and her grin widened.
"Wow that is a very sweet compliment, coming from a guy who I've been talking to for all of five minutes," Caroline murmured and Klaus realized that she was flirting with him. He also realized that she had been drinking. It might have been some hours ago but he could tell that she was not altogether in control of her actions.
"So, why do you think you know me so well Mr. Mystery Guy?" She moved to reposition her legs to the right and leaned back slightly looking up at him through her eyelashes. In her state of full on flirt mode she forgot where she was sitting and leaned back. Suddenly, she was aware of her body tipping too far and the sense of empty air, rather than, wood behind her.
She closed her eyes waiting for the impact. She knew that when she arrived at the hospital that her mother would be angry when she found out that Caroline had been drinking. She also knew that Bonnie and Elena would not be happy. They had argued with her impulse to talk to the guy up on the bleachers but she had insisted that she would be fine. Besides, nothing kept Caroline from talking to a hot guy.
She opened one eye slowly, peeking out, wondering why she wasn't laying in a heap at the bottom of the bleachers when she noticed the hands grasping her shoulders. She opened both eyes and let out a shaky breath. Klaus was looking at her with an unreadable expression, as he held her shoulders. "Are you alright?" He asked her, rubbing her arms lightly.
"I'm fine, thank you," she said, smiling shakily. "You must have amazing reflexes. I thought for sure I was going to break at least one limb."
"You don't have to worry about that while I'm here," he stated this calmly, as if he was sure of his ability to protect her.
This was all very odd to Caroline but a part of her was over joyed with the idea that this man seemed to care for her. 'Oh dear, drunk brain is on the loss, again.' Caroline chuckled to herself.
Klaus cocked his head, a look of amusement playing on his features. "May I ask what is amusing you so, Sweetheart?" He still held her shoulders, although his grip had relaxed.
"Oh, nothing," she murmured looking at the bottom of the bleacher between them. "Hey, you didn't answer my question." She pinned him with a patent Caroline Forbes I will not rest until you spill the dirt look.
Klaus was amused by this girl who thought she could intimidate him into a confession. She had no idea who he was. "Well, let's just say that I am older than I look and in my years I have learned to read people, very well." His face was inches from hers and his lips so close to hers, a smirk playing across them and a light radiated from his eyes which Caroline thought told of sights far from Mystic Falls.
Caroline scoffed, "Well, if you want to play it that way." She got up and dusted off the seat of her dress and began to walk off. She held her breath as she began to walk away. 'Wait for it,' she told herself as she strolled away. She was a foot form him when she felt his hand on her wrist. He was now standing in front of her with that same unreadable expression. He looked into her eyes for a long time and reached out brushing her hair out of her face. "You are breathtaking," he whispered into her ear.
What Klaus did not tell Caroline was about the many days he had come by the school just to get a glimpse of her. He did not tell her of the times that he had compelled boys who took her out or home, to either stay away from her or to treat her well. He did not tell her about the times he watched her from the safety of the shadows have fights with her mother or of the times that she cried herself to sleep. He did not tell her that on more than one occasion he had climbed into her bedroom and laid down next to her, wrapped an arm around her as she cried in her sleep.
He told himself in the beginning that he was at the school because he was watching the doppelganger but as the months passed and he did not make a move he realized that it was the girl. The girl he could not have. The girl he should not have. She was changing him and until today they had never spoken.
At the moment Caroline was trying to understand the haunted expression that had appeared on Mystery guy's face when she heard her name being called. "Car-o-line!" She turned, her mind foggy, to see her friends at the bottom of the bleachers. They were waving and Bonnie was gesturing at her watch.
'Had they been there that long,' she wondered. She turned to the stranger in front of her not wanting to leave just yet but she also did not want to walk home. "It's been really nice talking to you but my friends want to leave and they're my ride. So…," Caroline shrugged and watched as the guy nodded, a smirk appearing on his face. He reached down, took her right hand in his left and kissed it gently. It has been an honor making your acquaintance, Miss…"
"Miss Forbes, Caroline Forbes or Miss Mystic Falls," Caroline grinned up at him. "And what did you say your say your name was?"
He bowed his head, "I'm sorry. Where are my manners tonight? My name is Klaus."
"Good night, Klaus," Caroline said softly as she began her careful descent down the bleachers to meet her friends.
"Good night, Caroline," Klaus called as she turned around and waved.
He stood with his back straight, smirk in place as he watched her go. The night had not turned out terribly after all. Elena was staring up at him as she, Caroline and Bonnie were leaving. Caroline was chattering animatedly to her friends as Bonnie nodded, a smile on her face. However, Miss Gilbert was frowning up at him. He unlaced his hands from behind his back and waved at her.
Elena blinked and then focused on the strange man Caroline had been talking to moments ago. And where did he go. She scanned the bleachers but it was like he had just disappeared. The little hairs on the back of her neck rose. "Care," she called to her friend, who was several feet in front of her now. "Who was that guy?"
"Oh, he's Klaus. And he is such a sweet guy. He said the most amazing thing to me. And it's like an instant connection." Caroline was gushing and Elena tuned out the rest.
"So, you know him?" Elena asked.
Caroline turned and lifted an eyebrow. "No, no this is the first time we met. But Elena, he is so amazing and he's an artist. And I bet he's a great kisser. And I think this is it. He's the one. I wonder if he has a brother. We could plan a double date. But do not think that you're getting married first because we are going to have the most spectacular weeding Mystic Falls has ever seen."
"Really, Care? You just met the guy," Bonnie stated.
"Really, Bonnie, way to bring down the mood," Caroline replied tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"Caroline, we just don't want you to get hurt," Elena tried to reason with her friend.
Caroline sighed, turning back around to face her friends. "Look guys, we're going to be working all summer and it's not like I'm going to see the guy until the summer's over. And I wouldn't want him to see me in one of those awful outfits, anyway." Caroline shuddered at the thought as her friends hugged her.
In the meantime Klaus was strolling back to his mansion. He stopped when his phone vibrated in his pocket and he removed it reading Elijah's name on the screen. "Yes, Elijah," he was in a rather good mood and did not anticipate that anything his brother had to say would upset him. His mood shifted as he held the phone to his ear and a scowl appeared. "He did what?" he ground out. "Yes, I will be there soon." He closed his phone, his hands curling into fists. By the end of the night he fully intended on placing his younger brother back inside a box.
Thank you to imswiminfootwear for reviewing. If you haven't already checked out this talented writer's work. I recommend Truth or Dare or Love, Hate and Friendship. As for this story there will be more Klaroline in the next chapter because I love them although the chapter is Rebekah centric. I am trying to give each of the regular characters equal time in the story. Therefore, each chapter will come from a different character's point of view. I'm sure all of you have noticed I do stay in one character's head during an entire chapter. It's almost like a baton toss and I am never sure which character is going to take over. So, hopefully you're enjoying that. The next chapter is Party till 2 am and will be the last chapter before chapter 6, Orientation day. If there is a specific character you would like to see more of or a certain perspective you would like to see, I will be happy to take requests. I will be posting a bonus chapter of Saturday. Happy reading!