Chapter Six – Jumping In
Caroline was sitting in her English class and taking a quiz, currently focusing on the question about juxtaposition and not focusing even slightly on how Klaus's seat was conspicuously empty, because she didn't notice his absence.
Not at all.
She was more than halfway through her quiz when she became aware of the sound outside. It started out low, but it was definitely growing louder.
It was music.
But it wasn't someone blaring music from a car. The English classroom was at the back of the school, while the parking lot was out front.
Is someone singing?
It sure sounded like that. Caroline put down her pen and really listened. She wasn't the only one in her class to do so.
Someone is singing!
The beginning was unsure. But as the song grew louder and entered the second verse, the singer became more confident.
But the singer shouldn't have been gaining confidence; he was terrible!
By now, everyone in the classroom was paying attention to the music and not their quizzes. Even the English teacher was distracted by the not-so-lovely singing.
"I wish I could carry your smile in my heart
For times when my life seems so low
It would make me believe what tomorrow could bring
When today doesn't really know, doesn't really know"
The students sitting in the row closest to the windows got up from their seats to see what was going on. The English teacher knew she should forbid such movement, especially during a quiz, but she couldn't be bothered. She was curious too, after all.
"Oh my gosh…"
"Is that…?"
"Oh, my gosh…"
After hearing that, everyone rushed to the window, including the English teacher.
"I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right, believing for so long
I'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong"
Caroline slowly walked to the window and joined her classmates. She looked out the window and saw the horrifying sight.
There was Klaus, standing on the grass beneath the classroom windows. He had a small stereo sitting on the ground next to him, and he was crooning. And he made quite a sarcastic show of it.
"I want you to come back and carry me home
Away from these long, lonely nights
I'm reaching for you, are you feeling it too?
Does the feeling seem oh, so right?"
Klaus reached his arm upwards when he sang about 'reaching.' The English teacher placed her hand over her heart, as if the song and that gesture were meant for her.
"And what would you say if I called on you now
And said that I can't hold on?
There's no easy way, it gets harder each day
Please love me or I'll be gone, I'll be gone"
Klaus smiled at Caroline and sent her a wink (to which she responded with a soft shake of her head and a scoff) as he went into the second chorus with gusto.
"I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right, believing for so long
I'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong"
Klaus ended the song there, after the second chorus. Inside the English classroom, some of the students clapped, others laughed, and a few even cheered. Caroline shook her head again and laughed before she backed away from the window feeling mortified. But the entire time, she could not wipe the smile off her face.
Klaus found himself sitting in the detention hall the next day. He wasn't surprised that his actions had landed him in detention, but he was pissed that he didn't get a chance to know Caroline's reaction. He saw her mortification. And he saw her smile despite that mortification. But he hadn't seen her since then; he couldn't find her after school yesterday and he hadn't caught even a glimpse of her today, either.
Now he was surrounded by the other miscreants of Mystic High, the ones who typically spent their lunch period here in detention. They were all sitting quietly, fiddling or doodling or napping, just doing whatever they could to make the time in detention pass by a little bit faster.
One of them leaned over and spoke in a semi-hushed whisper that was loud enough for the entire population of detention to hear, but not the supervising teacher. "Nice song, Mikaelson."
Klaus rolled his eyes and sent the idiot an inappropriate hand gesture, but otherwise ignored the comment.
The Math teacher was sitting at the desk at the front of the room, reading a magazine and doing her best to ignore the students in detention.
The door to the detention hall opened and Klaus heard a melodic voice say, "Excuse me, Mrs Blaise."
He recognized the voice as that of Caroline and he looked up at her. She was standing in the doorway. She gave him a small smile and he perked up a little, sitting up taller in his seat.
Caroline walked into the room and moved to the front, addressing the Math teacher again.
"I'd like to state for the record that Mr Mikaelson's current incarceration is highly unnecessary. I never filed a complaint." Caroline smiled to herself; maybe being the only daughter of a workaholic sheriff did have its benefits after all.
"You didn't have to file a complaint, Miss Forbes. He disrupted a classroom."
The Math teacher didn't even lift her gaze from her magazine as she spoke. Caroline shifted her gaze to Klaus. She motioned her head towards the window. He shrugged, having no idea what she was hinting at.
She motioned again and looked towards the window and back at him with an expression that clearly said, 'Make a break for it, you moron.'
She returned her attention to the Math teacher / detention supervisor while Klaus inched out of his seat and moved cautiously towards the window.
The other miscreants watched this all unfold, enraptured and gleeful.
Caroline continued her argument as Klaus reached the window. "But Mrs Blaise, I hardly think a simple serenade warrants a week of detention."
Klaus froze when he was halfway out of the window, suddenly aware that the detention hall was on the second floor of the school.
"There are far more hideous acts than off-key singing being performed by the student body on a regular basis."
This time, the teacher did look up at Caroline; she wanted to make sure Miss Forbes clearly understood what she had to say on the matter. "You're not going to change my mind, Miss Forbes. Rules stick." The Math teacher turned her head to go back to reading her magazine.
Caroline started to panic as Klaus had yet to make the jump for the nearby tree and the teacher's desk was directly facing that window.
"Wait," Caroline grabbed the teacher's attention again just before she would have — or could have — spotted Klaus.
Caroline glanced towards the window. Klaus was just about to make the jump.
"I wanted to ask you a question… about Math." Caroline was making it up on the fly. Then she spotted the teacher's coffee cup, which had no lid and was conveniently located next to her open magazine.
She hoped the coffee was not too hot; she didn't want to scald the Math teacher if the liquid happened to land on her — Caroline just wanted to distract her.
Before Caroline could second-guess her actions, and certainly before the teacher could catch Klaus jumping out the window, Caroline reached towards the magazine but 'accidentally' knocked over the coffee cup just as Klaus jumped. The coffee ruined the magazine and landed on the teacher's lap.
Then Caroline noticed the string and tag from a tea bag.
Maybe tea won't completely stain and ruin her clothes.
The miscreants actually cheered as Klaus disappeared from the window; he had made his great escape.
"Oh, Mrs Blaise, I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz sometimes."
Mrs Blaise tried to be stern, but that was a challenge since she had lukewarm tea covering her lap. She was so distracted by her spilled tea that she didn't notice, or didn't pay attention to, the cheering.
"I'm all right. But please stop trying to help." Caroline had picked up a kleenex, trying to mop up the tea, but she only succeeded in making everything messier.
"I should just leave; I'm only making things worse."
The teacher nodded again.
"Sorry, again," Caroline said, over her shoulder, as she walked as quickly as she could out of the detention hall.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the detention hall's door close behind her. If she had been caught breaking Klaus out, they both would have wound up in the detention hall.
And Caroline Forbes does not receive detention.
Caroline didn't stop walking until she was underneath the tree outside the detention hall. She looked around but saw no one.
"Seriously?! I sprung the dickhead from detention and he left?"
She was about the storm away when she heard a soft chuckle followed by, "Look up, sweetheart."
She did and found Klaus, still in the tree.
"There you are."
"I guess I never you told that I'm afraid of heights."
Caroline smiled up at him. "Come on, you're not up that high."
He gripped the branch he was holding onto even tighter. "Try looking at it from this angle."
Caroline took a moment to assess the branch structure. She quickly planned out how she would get down, if she were up where Klaus now was. "Just put your foot there and then—"
"Forget it." Klaus shook his head. "I'm staying here."
Caroline huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Seriously? You want me to climb up and show you how to get down?"
"Maybe." Klaus's voice had a slight tremble to it.
Caroline sighed and climbed the tree. When she was perched on a branch next to Klaus, he flashed her a grin and swung down to the ground with ease and grace, leaving her up in the tree.
"Seriously!?" Caroline groaned when she realized she had been duped. "You suck!" she said before climbing down after him.
They left the school then, together, and walked to a nearby outdoor fairground. It was set up in a large parking lot that was hardly ever used anyway and was a fundraiser for some local event that Klaus really couldn't care less about. He had driven past it on the way to school, and it immediately came to mind as the perfect destination for their mini-escape.
"Air Supply?" Caroline asked. "Really?" They were walking slowly amongst the games, looking at them but not yet playing any.
Klaus shrugged. "I figured it had to be something ridiculous to win your respect. And to simultaneously piss you off."
"Good call." They were quiet as they took a few steps. "But don't ever sing again. Seriously, you were terrible."
"Well, we can't all have the voice of an angel, love." She tried not to blush at his comment. He smirked. "So how did you get Blaise to look the other way? I thought she would have nabbed me when I was halfway out that window."
"If it weren't for me, you definitely would have been caught. But I'm amazing and I dazzled her with my wit." They both laughed. "Seriously, I can talk my way out of almost anything."
"And my way too, apparently." He turned his head slightly and caught her gaze. "Thank you."
She was momentarily taken off guard by his offering of thanks, but she quickly recovered. "You're welcome."
Caroline saw the light colouring of his eyes and the blondest tints in his hair. She hadn't noticed it at first, but Klaus was rather attractive. She missed it initially because, unlike other guys, he didn't call attention to his looks.
But he really couldn't hide his lean physique, raspberry-coloured lips, or sea-coloured eyes. (They seemed to change colours, depending on the light — under the fluorescent lights at school they appeared green, at the Grill they looked to be more blue, and, in this direct sunlight, Caroline noticed that they were actually a mesmerizing blue-green mix. She also noticed that they seemed to betray his emotions; even when he formed his face into an expressionless mask, he couldn't quite control the emotions in his eyes.)
Even his chiseled jaw — did she really just think the world 'chiseled'? — couldn't really be hidden by the just-enough-to-be-sexy golden stubble that always graced his face.
Suddenly, Caroline broke into hysterical laughter. Klaus gave her a look.
"I cannot believe I actually broke you out of detention. That's so… atypical of me."
"Do you ever just let your hair down and have some fun?"
"No. Never. What is this word 'fun' that you speak of?"
Klaus smirked at her. "Let's change that, then, shall we?"
He stopped walking and gestured to the game in front of them, one requiring the player to shoot water from a plastic gun at a target. Caroline rolled her eyes but picked up the toy gun. Once the game started, she hit the target right at the centre and the water meter quickly rose to the top. The game attendant handed Caroline a small stuffed animal as her prize.
Klaus scoffed. "I suppose being the sheriff's daughter would have its advantages here…"
Caroline didn't respond; she just gave him a shrug and grinned hugely.
She noticed a small kid and her mother standing nearby. She handed the stuffed animal to the little girl and walked away. Klaus followed her.
"You have a soft side, huh?" he asked, sarcastically. "Who knew!"
"Sometimes." She lifted her index finger up to hover just near her lips in a secret or shushing action. "But don't tell anyone; I wouldn't want it to ruin my self-absorbed, high-maintenance reputation."
He was going to respond, to contradict her, but she spoke again before he had the chance.
"Ooo, I wanna try this one." He smiled when he saw her eyes light up. Then he saw which game she was referring to.
He raised his eyebrow. "Archery?"
She nodded, eagerly. "I saw it in 'The Hunger Games' and have wanted to try it ever since."
He had no idea what she was talking about.
"How hard can be it?" She said with a shrug.
He only smirked; he was going to enjoy this.
She stepped up to the game booth and grabbed the toy bow and an arrow. She aligned the part just below the arrow head with the part on the bow where the arrow rests. She pulled the string back with her right hand, using her left hand to keep the arrow in its place, and lined up the arrow head with her target. She held her breath as she let go of the arrow string.
She missed her target completely. The arrow fell to the ground and far left of the target.
Frustrated, she tried again.
This time, the arrow flew too far to the right, overcompensating for the too-far-to-the-left trajectory that her first attempt had taken.
She let her arms fall to her sides and she sighed in frustration.
Klaus chuckled.
"It's not funny," she told him with a glare.
"You look like an adorable female characterization of Cupid."
"It's not supposed to be adorable."
"Artemis, then: goddess of the hunt."
She turned to glare at him. "I'm pretty sure a goddess of the hunt would actually be able to hit her target."
"You're trying too hard, love." He stepped closer to her. "And you're much too rushed."
She put her hands on her hips, even though she was still gripping the bow with her left hand. "And you're what, an archery expert?"
He shrugged. "Not an expert, but I am proficient."
"Oh really?" She asked, jokingly going along with what he said.
He nodded.
That's when she realized he wasn't joking. "Seriously?"
He nodded again. "Your aim was too low, your elbows were too high, and you stance was atrocious."
She scoffed and turned back to the game to put the bow down. Klaus grabbed her arm lightly, halting her movements.
"Stop being so stubborn and let me show you." He removed his hand and she rolled her eyes before straightening her back. "Now resume your stance."
"Why, so you can mock its atrocity again?"
"No, so I can help."
Caroline let out a sigh but did what he asked. She grabbed an arrow, held it in place against the bow, and raised both of them up.
"Spread your legs a little more; this will give you balance and keep you grounded."
He stepped even closer, standing behind her as he wrapped his arms around hers. He placed his hands over hers so he could position them correctly. She flinched at first, at the close touch — they had never been this close before — but she relaxed when she heard his voice speak low in her ear.
"Now, you need to lower you elbow." He pressed down lightly on her right elbow, the one that was pulled back behind her. She complied. "That's better. Now pull back more on the string until the tension is taut and tense, almost as if it will break." His right hand moved from her elbow, along her arm, and back to her hand, guiding it back further as he spoke. As she let him pose her, Caroline noted that his voice had a calming effect. "Good. Aim a little higher. Perfect." She noticed how rough his hands were; they provided a not unpleasant contrast to her soft ones. "Now take a deep breath and let go of the arrow when you release your breath."
She closed her eyes as she inhaled. She could smell Klaus's scent, mixed in with the typical fairground smells. She opened her eyes and exhaled while letting go of the arrow. She watched, in amazement, to see her arrow hit the target. It didn't land in the centre, but it was only about an inch away from it.
Wow! A definite improvement.
She smiled excitedly and laughed. She turned around and almost hugged him, but stopped herself before she could.
He smiled back at her and he found himself admiring her smile and the way she lit up when she succeeded. She was quite literally radiant.
"Well done," he said.
"And you're pointers weren't so terrible." She gave him another small smile. "Thank you."
They spent the afternoon together in the fairgrounds, laughing. Caroline couldn't remember the last time she laughed so much. Or cared so little about what was happening anywhere except where she was.
She should be concerned about the classes she skipped that afternoon; she should be concerned about what the other prom committee members were doing in preparation for when they would decorate.
She should be concerned about many things, but she wasn't. She was just enjoying her time.
They played a few more games before leaving that section. They walked to the far end and played a short game of mini-putt on a small, five-hole course.
Klaus smiled, watching Caroline's smile and enthusiasm as she clapped her hands and jumped up and down when she got a hole in one — the only hole in one of the game.
"So what's your excuse?" Klaus asked her as they returned their clubs to the mini-putt attendant's booth.
"For what?"
"For acting the way we did today: you breaking me out of detention and then us skipping out on the rest of the day."
Caroline shrugged. "I don't like to do what other people expect. Then they'd expect that all the time and you don't have room to change. Or you do change and they become disappointed with you or shocked by the changes. Besides, why should I live up to other people's expectations and not the ones I create on my own?"
"But things never live up to their expectations," Klaus noted.
She nodded as they walked away from the mini-putt area. "Hence my deep avoidance of all such things."
"Like the dances you plan."
"Exactly."
"But you did go to the party out by the falls," he pointed out. He fixed his gaze on her, watching her reaction to his words.
"That was… an anomaly." She turned her face away from his gaze, hoping he wouldn't see the blush that she felt was creeping onto her face. But going by his chuckle, he either saw it or assumed that was the reason why she turned her head.
They were quite for a few minutes before Klaus spoke again. "You up for it?"
She turned to face him. "For what?" she asked.
He motioned to the sign just ahead of them for a paintball game.
She grinned and nodded. "Absolutely."
As the game attendant was handing the paintball guns to them and had finished explaining the rules, Klaus couldn't help but give voice to his astonishment. "I must admit my surprise here, love: I never expected you would want to do something that would muck up your hair or clothing."
She rolled her eyes at his insinuations as she used her fingers to comb her hair back into a ponytail. "Is this your way of trying to back out? To save yourself from embarrassment when I beat you?"
"No," he said slowly. "I expected you to cringe at the idea of doing something so messy."
"Well, that's your own fault, now isn't it, for making falsely-informed judgements."
He smirked. "I suppose it is."
Caroline returned his smirk and ran ahead into the paintball game area; she wanted to prove to Klaus just how wrong he was about her.
The two of them spent the next fifteen minutes creeping through the paint-ball course, stealthy and full of the desire to best the other.
Klaus nailed her in the back with a big glob of red paint. She got him back in the chest with a glob of yellow; he returned fire with a big blue splat to the side of her face. She squirted a green shot right onto his forehead.
After a few more shots, they were both covered in paint.
Caroline tried to shoot him again, but she found that her gun was empty. "No!"
Taking advantage of her distraction, Klaus grabbed her in a tackle. They landed softly on the ground together, laughing. As their laughter faded, their eyes locked amidst the colours of paint splattered across their faces.
Klaus looked down at Caroline and wiped a smear of blue paint from near her mouth. His thumb moved slightly higher and traced a circular pattern across her cheek. The lightness of his touch sent a small shiver down her spine. He slowly bent his head down until his mouth hovered over hers. He could feel her breath against his lips.
She almost held her breath with anticipation. His intense gaze captured hers, and her chest tightened. But then he paused, as if to ask her permission. She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss.
Caroline felt passion and fervor bubbling just under the surface. She ran her hands along his arms as he kissed her again, this time applying more pressure. Their mouths parted at the same time.
She ran her hands along his shoulder and tilted her head, bringing their mouths deeper into one another. He traced his tongue along her lips which left a tingly trail in its wake.
Her eyes remained shut when he finally pulled away. He brought his mouth to hers one more time for a single peck. Her eyes fluttered open to see him smiling down at her as he pressed his forehead against hers. She met his gaze with a smile.
Caroline sat up slightly, bringing her even closer to Klaus. His smirk grew. But she surprised him by shoving his shoulder, which caused him to turn over and land on his back. Using his shock to her advantage, she quickly got up and ran towards the game entrance, looking back over her shoulder and laughing at his stunned expression.
Klaus's truck pulled up to the curb in front of Caroline's house. Their paint-covered clothes had dried and they looked like refugees from some strange, yet colourful, war. He shut off the truck and they got out.
"The state trooper?"
"Fallacy."
Caroline was finally getting answers to some of her questions. She was questioning every rumour she had ever heard about him. So far, none of them proved to be even remotely true.
"Marilyn Manson?"
"Hearsay."
They stopped and sat down on her front porch steps. "I know the porn career's a lie."
"Do you?" He scooted closer to her and began kissing her neck. Now that he had kissed her, Klaus found that he could never get enough. He couldn't get his fill of this one girl. Caroline laughed; it tickled.
"The accent?"
He pulled away to sit up straighter and flashed a grin at her. "It's real, love. I was born in England; all my siblings were. We moved over here when I was 12."
"How many siblings do you have?"
"Four."
"Four? Really?"
Klaus nodded. "Two older brothers, Elijah and Finn, and two younger siblings, Kol and Rebekah."
"Wow. I can't even imagine. Only child and all. But all I've been asking about are the rumours. Now tell me something true."
"I just did. My siblings are real."
Caroline gave him a look and shook her head. "No. Okay, tell me something else that's real, then, something no one else knows."
"Okay. Something real." He pondered that for a moment before leaning in closer. "You're beautiful." He kissed the side of Caroline's neck. "You're strong." He moved his head and kissed the other side of her neck. "You're full of light." He placed a quick peck on her lips. "I enjoy you."
Caroline felt herself blush from his words. She needed to distract herself again. She was very quickly falling under whatever spell he was weaving. "What kind of name is Klaus?"
"It's rather old-fashioned."
"Duh," Caroline said with an eye roll.
He smirked. "It's short for Niklaus."
He has a nickname?
"Does anyone call you Niklaus?"
He nodded. "My two older brothers do. And my parents."
"What do your younger siblings call you?"
Klaus smiled fondly, thinking of Kol and Rebekah. "Nik. They call me Nik."
"Nik," Caroline mused. "I think I like that one more than 'Klaus'; it suits you better, somehow."
