Disclaimer: Do I need to keep doing this? Hasn't it become clear that I don't own TVD or any of its characters? Ugh fine, since I'm afraid of lawyers and their fancy suits and sophisticated legal jargon...I own nothing.
A/N: Thank you all so much for your feedback. I love all of you dearly and each review makes me want to cry and laugh and dance and ugh I just love all of you, okay? You give me the motivation I need to keep writing :D Enjoy this chapter!
-xxx-
"It's been two days, Nik!" Rebekah shouted, but Klaus continued to ignore her. He had his back turned to all his siblings, working on another painting and pretending they didn't exist.
"Ignoring us won't do you any good, Niklaus. You'll have to listen eventually," Elijah reasoned.
Finn scoffed. He was leaning against the wall and staring off into space, detached from the rest of his siblings as always. "He won't listen. He won't do anything unless it benefits himself."
Klaus rolled his eyes as he dipped his brush in more paint, coating the canvas with it.
Rebekah sighed exasperatedly. "She finally showed some interest and you just shut her down! The twenty-one year mark is just around the corner and if you don't fall in love with her soon we'll be stuck here forever!"
Still no response.
"And by soon, I mean today!" she tried, throwing her hands in the air when she was met with more silence. "Come on! You wanted the curse broken more than any of us!"
Another beat of silence.
"NIK!" Rebekah yelled. "Please! I just want to get out of here so I can live a normal life, and I know you want that too. I don't want to live in constant fear that Mikael will find us while we're trapped here. Please do this, not just for me but for all of us. And for you."
Klaus tuned her out. He wasn't going to let her guilt trip him.
Rebekah's eyes glistened with tears, and Elijah placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Niklaus, we are running out of time. I know you don't want to live off animal blood for the rest of eternity. We both know what little tolerance you have for it."
Klaus continued painting.
It could use more shadows over here... Maybe some more red for the leaves, it is Autumn scenery after all...
"Maybe I'll go for her instead," Kol chimed in, "since you don't have dibs on her anymore. I could really show her what it's like to be ravished."
That does it.
Klaus dropped his paintbrush and stormed over to Kol, his eyes dangerous. "First," he growled threateningly, "Caroline is not property. No one has dibs on her. And second, if you so much as touch her, I will tear you limb from limb until you are begging for mercy."
Kol smirked. "Finally, a reaction."
Klaus's jaw ticked, but he finally relaxed after a few seconds of glaring at his brother. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's useless to try and win her over now. I blew it."
"Did you?" Rebekah asked, her tone annoyed. "Or are you just trying to convince yourself of that so you don't feel guilty for not trying?"
Klaus's eyes flicked to his sister, irritated. "Don't test my patience, Rebekah."
"Oh, Nik. You know your threats mean nothing to me."
"Stop arguing," Elijah demanded. "Niklaus, will you or will you not try again with the girl?"
Klaus couldn't look at any of his siblings. His face was turned away from them as he answered, with his fists balled at his side in annoyance. "Fine," he spit through clenched teeth.
-xxx-
Caroline was sitting on her bed flipping through the pages of War and Peace. It wasn't exactly her first choice when it came to reading, but she didn't recognize any of the other books the Originals had, so she settled on Tolstoy. She figured she would eventually come to know all the books cover-to-cover since she was going to be stuck here for eternity.
Of course, she didn't have to read. She could hang out with Kol and Rebekah or ask Elijah to tell her stories of the viking days or the medieval times, but she couldn't bring herself to leave her room and risk facing him.
Caroline sighed loudly. Reading was supposed to be a distraction. It was supposed to get her mind off of everything, but for some reason she couldn't keep her mind busy with anything except the last few days. The kiss, talking to a drunk Klaus... Every time she managed to shake her thoughts, the memories would come back. Having to suffer the embarrassment over and over again every second of the day was not fun, to say the least.
There was a soft knock on the door, pulling Caroline out of her reverie. "Come in," she called out hesitantly, closing her book and standing up to greet whoever was at her door.
The door creaked open, and Caroline was facing the last person she expected to see. "Klaus?"
First, she felt immense relief. She had begun to worry that this was what it would be like for the rest of her existence—them avoiding each other. Luckily, that wasn't the case if he was standing here now. Then she felt anger. Not just a mild annoyance, but a boiling rage that coursed through her veins and made her want to hit him and yell at him and tell him how miserable she'd been for the past two days.
She didn't do any of that, however. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. It was enough to let him know that she was pissed as hell.
"You have every right to be angry," Klaus said as he clicked the door shut behind him and stepped toward her carefully, "but let me explain."
"Explain?" Caroline let out a bitter laugh. "You've ignored me for two days. Two whole days, Klaus! That may not seem like a lot to someone as old as you, but for me it was hell."
The corner of Klaus's mouth twitched upwards. "Don't you think you're being a little dramatic, sweetheart?"
"I am not being dramatic! Have you ever been locked in a house against your will, making mistake after mistake and having nothing to do but replay them over and over again in your head?!"
Klaus chuckled. "I may understand that better than you think, love.
"Would you stop trying to make a joke out of this?!"
His smile vanished. "Do you think I'm trying to be funny? None of this is amusing to me."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Why are you here?"
Klaus took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to say whatever it is he needed to say. "I wanted to apologize, and I wanted to give you an explanation for my...behavior."
"I'm listening."
"I fancy you, Caroline. You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light... I enjoy you," he admitted.
Caroline's expression softened. "What's the problem then?"
"I can't be who you want me to be. Who you need me to be. That's not who I am, I'm not good. You need someone who's going to give you the life you deserve, someone less dangerous and with less enemies. I'm not that person for you."
There was a short pause before Caroline spoke. "That's not it," she decided. "You're afraid."
Klaus glared at her. "I'm not afraid."
"Yes, you are. The idea that someone might actually care about you scares you."
"Sweetheart, I'm a thousand year old hybrid. I'm not afraid of anything."
"Believe me, I've met plenty of guys like this. You don't want to have any weaknesses, so you push everyone away."
"Don't you dare compare me to dimwitted, human, teenage boys. I'm nothing like them."
"I know you aren't, and that's why I like you. I just can't help but see the similarities there." Caroline paused, and then added, "Look, even if what you said was true, you don't get to make that decision for me. It's not up to you to tell me what kind of person I should be with."
Klaus was silent.
"I know what I want," Caroline said firmly. "But I won't push you to feel the same way." She reached up to briefly press her lips to his cheek before giving him a sad smile and heading to the door to maybe roam the gardens for a while.
Suddenly, Klaus grabbed her by the arm and spun her around towards him before taking her face in his hands and crushing his lips to hers. She was caught off guard for a moment, but responded a second later by running her hands up his arms and gripping his strong shoulders. She tilted her head to the side and opened her mouth, her sweet breath mingling with his as she explored his mouth with her own.
Caroline's fingers tangled in his dark blonde hair as his hands moved to wrap around her waist, pulling her closer against him. He broke away from her lips only to trail desperate kisses down her jaw and neck. She threw her head back to allow him better access and let out a sigh of contentment as his mouth moved upwards toward her jaw again, his tongue lightly tracing her skin. He lingered there for a moment before capturing her bottom lip between two of his own.
This wasn't like any other kiss Caroline had experienced. All of her boyfriends in the past had been rough with their kisses, and they had a hurried edge to them as if they couldn't get her out of her clothes fast enough. Klaus was different. His kisses were gentle, but they were passionate. He was making every second count. There was no rush.
It didn't surprise her, really. When you could live for eternity, you had all the time in the world to appreciate the smaller moments. Moments like this, where the only thing Caroline could think about was Klaus's soft lips against her own, making her undead heart race with adrenaline.
"Klaus," she whispered as she brought her hands from his hair and ran them down his chest, toying with the hem of his shirt.
Klaus grabbed her wrists, stopping her before she could begin to undress him. He smirked against her mouth before pulling away. Her look of disappointment made him chuckle.
"Do me a favor? Don't call me Klaus anymore."
"What do you want me to call you?" she asked, confused.
"Nik."
Caroline narrowed her eyes. "I thought you didn't want me to call you that. You know, 'I am not Nik to you...' Ring a bell?"
Klaus shrugged, trying to hide his smile and failing miserably. "Things change."
Caroline felt her heart swell. It was a small gesture, but letting her call him that was a symbol of intimacy. He was letting her in, and he was sharing a piece of himself with her. It was small, but it gave her hope.
"Nik..." she said, trying out the name.
Nik leaned down, attaching his lips to hers briefly before pulling back again. "Much better," he breathed.
-xxx-
Alaric was sitting in the Grill downing another glass of bourbon when Damon sat down next to him. He didn't have to look up to know he was there.
"Hey, Ric," Damon greeted his best friend.
"Don't you have a rescue plan to hatch?" Alaric asked, turning to face him.
"Don't you have papers to grade?" Damon retorted, smirking before saying with a sigh, "I need your help. Elena wants to come with us to save Caroline."
"She can't! It's too dangerous for her, she's only a human!" Ric's eyes shone with concern.
"I know, that's why you need to babysit her while we're carrying out the plan."
"That didn't make a difference last time," Ric reminded him, thinking of when she snuck out to go to the masquerade ball.
"You weren't watching her closely enough last time. This time, you're not letting her out of your sight, even if that means tying her to a chair to keep her from leaving."
Ric sighed, defeated. "I don't know what good it will do, Damon. Once Elena sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her." He paused. "But I'll try my best."
"Great. Now, do you mind if we borrow some of your vamp-killing weapons?"
"What do you need?"
"Crossbows, wooden bullets, vervain grenades...you know, the usual."
"What's your plan of attack?"
"Ask Stefan. I'm sure his plan differs from mine."
"What's your plan?"
Damon paused before answering, his lips curling upward in a cruel smile. "To kill all of them."
-xxx-
A/N: So Klaus and Caroline are together now, but how long will their happiness last? ;)
I'm not going to beg for reviews, but...please review! Pretty please with a cherry on top? I want to know your thoughts, theories, opinions, suggestions, etc. It means so much to me! I love you all, thank you for reading :D
P.S. Should I make a side blog where I can post about my fanfics and possibly write drabbles or is that a dumb idea? Let me know :)
-Morgan