10 months earlier
"I don't know where I am." Klaus exasperated on his phone. "On a minuscule town in Virginia." He corrected himself as he walked by the typical town square with a population sign next to a bench.
"What are you going to do now?" Camille asked worried.
"The car broke down just on the outskirts of town and the insurance can only send someone tomorrow morning to check on the possible damage." Klaus looked around for anything that resembled a Pub.
"You need to stay in the car and maybe call the police."
Klaus nodded. "Of course love, I also need to save up battery in case the coyotes show up and I need real help." He smiled spotting a promising possibility to acquire some alcohol.
"If you won't take my concern seriously, I'm hanging up."
"I will call you as soon as I find a room for the night." He eased up on his mockery and tried to end the call nicely.
"I don't know why you felt the need to drive all the way to Tennessee alone." Camille huffed.
Before the conversation turned uglier Klaus ended the call by saying that he saw a police station, instead he walked inside of a small bar with a modest decoration and more tables than customers.
"Hey there stranger, what will it be?" A spunky kid asked him while cleaning the counter.
"Your finest malt." Klaus eagerly asked. "And by finest I do mean the best."
The kid hesitated, then he frowned. "There's the Scotch that old Teddy used to drink before the doctor cut him off, the locals won't touch it because it's too expensive."
"It sounds marvelous." Klaus estimated, he really just wanted a drink.
"All righty then." The kid disappeared under the counter to get the infamous bottle.
Klaus had a minor look around himself, small places always had a peculiar feel to them.
"There you go." The kid dusted of the bottle. "Are you visiting someone?"
"I was passing through but my car broke down and it won't start so I've decided to spend the night here. Can you recommend a good bed and breakfast?"
"There's a fancy place 20 minutes from town but if you want to stay here for the night, there's a house five minutes away from the square that rents rooms, it's pink so you can't miss it."
"Thank you for your help." Klaus was sold on the drink as well, it was splendid.
The kid genuinely smiled before deviating his attention to the small stage.
Klaus wasn't even bothering as he was still processing the way that Camille just talked to him, the tone that she used to admonish him for taking a well-deserved break after relentlessly managing Adele right to the top of the pyramid.
It had been two very stressful and work loaded years and honestly he just had the need to leave it all behind him before he transitioned to his next client, at first Camille had been understanding but she fast tracked on that as soon as Klaus mentioned that he was planning on a road trip across the country.
"Hello my devoted audience."
Klaus interrupted his heavy thoughts to look at the stage, there was a girl sitting on a stool and hugging a guitar and she was literally thanking a couple of drunks, an old man sitting alone in a table, the young bartender and himself.
Taking that detail as something evidently normal and without further delay the blonde proceeded to start her performance.
It was a simple acoustic version of some worn-out song from the 80's but the blonde had a candid clean voice and she made it sound current, she was gifted with the guitar as well and Klaus turned on his seat to better face the pretty girl on stage.
"Spending my time
Watching the days go by
Feeling so small, I stare at the wall
Hoping that you think of me too
I'm spending my time…"
She carried on from the chorus effortlessly, there was this indescribable easiness about the girl, she was singing like music was part of her veins and essence, like it was all coming from this focal point inside of her where music existed along with butterflies and flowers.
Klaus smiled just as about the same time that she did and it was only a reaction to her, it came because she did it and that meant more than any mundane human could think.
"What's her name?" Klaus asked the information-provider at hand.
"Caroline Forbes." The kid leaned over the counter. "She's the local star."
Perhaps it was regarded as a silly joke but to Klaus those words made all the sense, he looked back at the tiny stage already concluding that it was infinitely scarce for her talent.
He imagined a vast arena with a crowd fitting of her magnetism and an entire band backing her up, he had a clear image of all the working motion that would make her shine brighter than all the stars in the sky.
It was an hyperbole as big as they came but there was no other way with Klaus, it was either total indifference or absolute dedication when he saw someone with potential and the cheerful blonde with two fish-side braids and a weird combination of a summer dress with winter boots, had it.
With a final stroke of fingers across the strings she ended her song, she had a small sigh as the only noise echoing were the clapping efforts from the old man.
"Thank you so much, it's been rad." She giggled on her way to leave the stool.
"That was wonderful Caroline." Her devoted fan said as she went by his table.
"You're such a flirt Thomas." She teased him sweetly, irrevocably aware that she was bringing some joy into his wrinkled days.
Klaus kept his eyes on her as she came over the counter unimpressed by his presence.
"I'm going to have my break now, Britney Spears." The bartender handed her an apron before swiftly leaving.
She took the hit obviously softened up by the amount of times that she surely heard that same barb and laced the ends of her small apron around her waist with a humming tune still lingering in her lips.
"I enjoyed that very much." Klaus instigated her to look up at him.
Caroline shot her crystal-blue eyes at him. "I bet that you did."
"There's no need to be suspicious. I thoroughly did." He insisted.
She chuckled with a small shake of her head. "I'm not some fantasy that you are itching to scratch, so don't waste your time on cheap remarks. I'm not impressed by your accent and you will not seduce me enough for a random date before you leave my town."
Klaus retrieved a small card from his pocket. "I'm Klaus Mikaelson, I'm a notorious manager."
She laughed while skimming through the Introduction card. "That's a lot of hard work just to hit on girls."
"No love…" Klaus breezed out an amused smile. "I'm really a manager for artists."
Her eyes left the card to lock with his, she wasn't convinced or affected by his selling techniques. "And what do you want with me?"
"I want to make you famous."
Caroline burst into laughter, she richly shook with laughter and it lasted long enough for him to have his drink only waiting for her to ease up on the roar.
"You want to make me famous?"
The laughter hadn't been enough and she had the need to ask him word by word. "I think that you're good." Klaus kept his assertive tone.
"Only good?" Caroline scoffed offended.
"You could be sublime but that will take some work and my guidance." He was only blunt with her as well.
"I think that your drink is rotten." Caroline frowned.
"There's nothing askew, I promise that my interest comes from watching you on stage and I would very much like to work with you."
Caroline looked back at the small square with a stool and a Karaoke machine on the corner. "My stellar performance was enough to impress you…" She looked at the card again. "I don't believe a word that you're saying."
"Do your research and then call me love, I've recently ended a contract with an artist and I would like to get involved with someone as you."
"What's your reasons behind it?"
He smiled enthralled by how direct she was. "I can tell how much of a challenge you will be." He left money on the counter to pay for his drink and walked away with the same certainty of his words.
Caroline hit the card against her finger, he sounded weirdly honest although it was all so freakish to believe it. "Klaus Mikaelson." She read the name to herself, he sounded like royalty yet she had no idea who he was.
Present time
"I don't know this person!" Elijah ranted with a back and forth pacing that supported his manifestation of disapproval. "I don't recognize my astute brother in your actions." He opened his suit jacket with a steamy breath. "Canceling an engagement is not to take lightly like a concert that you need to postpone."
Klaus didn't measure Elijah's wrath and still delivered a sassy note. "Actually there's a mammoth amount of work when we are forced to stop a concert from happening, we have to appease a legion of disappointed fans, return the fees from the tickets and rearrange the artist's agenda completely."
Elijah held his eyes on Klaus with fury.
Klaus quietly leaned back on the sofa. "I just wanted to be clear about that."
"What about the fact that you made a promise to a dying man and that now you are shaming that vow by renouncing your bride."
Klaus narrowed his eyebrows with a sulk. "I promised Kieran that Camille would never be deprived of anything."
"You are refusing her of a husband." Elijah expressed aghast.
"I don't plan on putting a halt on her life, she's free to pursue another one to marry her."
Elijah gravely closed his eyes and covered his face with his hand. "I cannot take you for serious Niklaus, what has gotten into you?" He questioned Klaus with a direct look at him next.
"Everyone claims that this pledge to marry Camille was a mistake."
"And since when do you take into consideration what others think?"
"It's more than background noise when it's in unison."
Elijah sat next to Klaus with a sigh. "I admit that in the beginning I wasn't a fervent supporter of this betrothal myself but I am of the honor behind it. You can't end this pact that you have made with a man who took in when you needed."
"I didn't call you for permission Elijah."
Elijah bounced to his feet upset. "I will not allow you to do this. Camille is a calm girl and she will be a lovely wife and surely a devoted mother. She has established herself as a doctor and her view on life is always very insightful. She's a good woman Niklaus."
"It's settled then." Klaus opened his arms. "You will marry her."
"I am married and I love my wife very much." Elijah angrily spat out. "Is this behavior related in any way to your new client?"
Klaus remained silent and his eyes barely moved as Elijah started to shake his head.
"It was atypical that you invested so much, I should have come to New York sooner…" He closed his suit restoring the composure to his attire. "You've used your own money on her promotion and that should have been my alarm boost."
"I successfully achieved a contract for her with artistic freedom." Klaus beamed endlessly proud of himself. "I can tell you five artists in the world who have that privilege, Madonna is one of them."
"It's her first album Niklaus, if it fails they won't bother producing or marketing a second one so her freedom as it is results quite irrelevant."
"There's nothing irrelevant about Caroline." Klaus pressed.
There was a louder sigh from Elijah. "You are under the spell of a young infatuation… this will pass once you realize how much Camille has been a constant in your life." He smiled reassured that this was just a silly crush. "Camille is without a doubt the right influence in your life."
"Let me introduce you to Caroline." Klaus smirked.
Caroline was at the studio with Tyler, on the way back to New York she started playing around with her guitar, as he joined her in the studio this simple tune gained a life and they had a song half-developed.
It was that work session that Klaus and Elijah found when they arrived and with a cunning soul Klaus wisely kept their arrival discrete.
"Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
"Well isn't this nice..."
And isn't it ironic... don't you think
It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures…"
Caroline sang what would be chorus once more and waited for Tyler's opinion.
"I like it a lot, I'm going to ask Matt to record it tomorrow so that we can see how it sounds on tape." He smiled widely at her. "Finally you will have a rock song on your album, so far you only have ballads."
"Ballads are pretty." Caroline narrowed her eyes at him.
"They are boring." Tyler grunted.
"You will have to get used to playing them." Caroline called dibs on a victory.
He resisted. "I'm going to download a list of pure rock tracks for you, we need to open those music limits of yours."
Caroline gasped extra loudly and with big drama. "Download?"
"From a site that pays artists." He said slowly acting as if she was the police.
Caroline laughed with the smallest drift to the glass where Klaus knocked to get her attention, she immediately left the booth although a bit on the cautious side because he was accompanied by an imposing presence in a suit.
Her lips formed a small smile as the man lowered his head the tiniest to greet her.
"Caroline, this is my brother Elijah." Klaus made the introduction.
Her smile grew immensely. "I'm so happy to meet you." She came closer with glowing eyes. "I had such a big image of how you would look like."
"Perhaps I haven't disappointed entirely." Elijah cordially said.
She easily had one of those effortless little laughs. "No you haven't and now I can see that Klaus isn't the only debonair man in the family."
Elijah sprinted out a smile but he touched his suit like he was flustered by the compliment.
"You are his favorite brother." Caroline jumped on the confession. "He has this huge admiration for you."
Elijah looked at Klaus surprised while the other Mikaelson used a glare to urge Caroline to be quiet.
"I find that odd considering how reserved about his feelings Niklaus is." Elijah spoke of only the truth that he knew.
"You have to take attention to the smallest details." Caroline's eyes searched for Klaus.
"Was that a new song that you were working on with Tyler?" He deflected.
Caroline playfully scolded him. "Like what he just did, did you see that?" She asked Elijah.
"Niklaus does not appreciate having all eyes on him unless he has asked for that honor." Elijah replied with a tamed smile.
"Aren't you going to hide behind your fancy phone?" Caroline teased him.
"And miss the nonsense being spewed about me?" He countered.
"You don't miss a thing of what happens around you."
"Even when I pretend that I do?"
"Ironic, that's the song that I'm working on." Caroline rolled her eyes before looking at Elijah. "Was he already this dreadful when he was young?"
He who had been attentive to the easy banter merely moved his lips into what could be a smile if he placed some effort into it. "In reality Niklaus was somewhat shy."
Caroline cocked an eyebrow to an extreme.
"He was a reserved child and later on he grew up to be a quiet young man who created his version of the world." Elijah was momentarily taken by his memories.
Klaus was happy that his phone started ringing. "I'm going to take this call outside, I beg you to stop embarrassing me." He asked Elijah.
"Obviously his temper has improved with the years." Elijah scoffed with a loud expel of air.
"I've never met anyone who dedicated so much of himself to create this fake detachment from life."
Elijah responded with a glassy stare.
She gently laughed knowing that she was thinking out loud. "But it's fun to see his reaction whenever I ignore all that and treat him like a normal person with flaws."
"My brother has some extraordinary qualities…"
He sounded offended but Caroline was too impulsive to step back. "I think that he's a genius but I don't see a reason to coddle him."
He patronized her with a smile. "Niklaus' past carries a weight that not many are able to comprehend."
"Everything that he accomplished so far was only to put space between what happened before and what he wanted for his life."
"You reckon that he stopped running from his history with our father?"
Caroline had a gentle nibble of her lower lip before answering him. "I don't know what goes on in Klaus' head Elijah but I know that I would like him to let go of what happened and actually enjoy the good life that he made for himself because he has all this money and properties and cars and he doesn't appreciate any of it, they are just collectable items to show his father this he's not an underachiever."
"Camille is a very humble girl and she will help him give good usage to his wealth once they get married. Which is happening soon." Elijah waited for her receptivity to the news.
"I only want him to be happy." Caroline turned away and joined Tyler who hadn't left the recording booth.
Elijah found Klaus in the hallway ending his call.
"I was about to go back inside." Klaus tried to read Elijah, he knew how easily Caroline conquered everyone.
"I have to leave, there are still many things that I need to do today but Katerina is arranging for a family dinner tonight and Kol and Bonnie will be there so please…" Elijah paced closer to him. "Make things right with your fiancée and bring her to the family gathering tonight."
"Are you trying to cross me on purpose?" Klaus asked him in a bad mood.
"Don't be discourteous, this idea of yours makes no sense and as your older brother I know what's best for you so this engagement will only have an end because tonight you are going to set a date for the wedding." It was a low demand and Elijah walked away convinced that Klaus would do the right thing.
"I will see you next week." Camille ended the session with a smile and handed the patient a note with the next appointment.
"Okay." He took the paper lethargically and left on the same spirit.
Camille wasn't sure if there was any progress with the man but he was one of those long cases that would need a lot of work and she was a fan of those complicated files.
"Hello." Klaus knocked on the door to call her notice.
"Nik!" She breathed out excited to see him, it was a rarity that he would visit her at work.
"Do you have a few minutes that you could spare? I need to discuss something with you."
"I'm free for the rest of the day." She quickly went over to him so that she could kiss him but she only grazed his lips as he pulled back to deny her the intimacy. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me?"
"I'm not going to carry on with our engagement." He spoke without hurry and his body followed the motion of his words. "It's for the best that we go our separate ways." He placed himself at a greater distance from her but kept his eyes determined on the same level than hers.
"I'm not going anywhere." She stuttered across her shock.
"I will be moving out of the suite but you can stay there for now, I will provide you with a permanent residence when I have the opportunity."
Camille shook her head. "You can't end everything between us just like that."
"I am keeping my promise to your uncle untainted and I will leave you with enough money to live a comfortable life." He assured her in a neutral, almost cold tone of voice.
"You are treating me like I'm a pet that you promised to look after…" She was mostly incredulous now. "This is because of that kid isn't it? She won you over with her skimpy little dresses and her lighthearted way of living."
"I already told Elijah about my decision."
She widened her eyes, it was official then. "I won't let you ruin your life over some twit."
Klaus planned on a civilized ending but her constant insults directed at Caroline shortened his intentions.
"Wait!" Camille grabbed his hand as soon as he turned away from her. "Let's talk about this."
"I've made my decision." He stated.
"I'm in this as well." She shouted with a shriek.
"And I'm not leaving you out cold Camille. I'm ending things instead of prolonging something that has withered long ago."
"No…" She cupped his face. "This is only a bad chapter in our lives but everything will go back to normal as soon as you leave Caroline and take another client."
Klaus took her wrists to further take her hands down from his face. "I'm not going to end my connection with Caroline."
Camille's tears stormed to her eyes. "She's just a client and you don't stay with them for long."
"There's no love on my behalf for you Camille, there's respect and gratitude towards your uncle's memory but none of that is enough to steer me away from my decision."
"What about what we lived as a couple? Our conversations and the times that we've been intimate?" She agonized noticing how there was no reaction in his eyes at all, it was as if it all had been indifferent for him.
"I'm unable to give you more than the minimal that I've given you so far." He was amiable with his confession, it's how he genuinely felt.
"But you are willing to give her more?"
"If you insist on bringing her into this discussion then perhaps it's safe to assume that I no longer have a reason to stay here."
"You can't leave me." Camille started crying.
It froze momentarily his exit but Klaus remained unwavering about the rest. "I won't stay."
"You're scared." Camille rearranged her thoughts and controlled her tears. "Your parents had a horrible marriage and you are afraid of history repeating itself."
"I am nothing like my father." Klaus coldly answered back.
"You won't be happy with her." Camille voiced as a bad omen.
"I'm not happy now." He finally walked out of her office.
Caroline didn't like the last versus of her new song and she used her pen to cross a few words. "… It's meeting the man of my dreams and having to let him go…" She wrinkled her lips searching for the right words. "… and then meeting his beautiful wife." She liked how that sounded better and replaced the last sentence.
There was no time to rehearse it on the guitar because someone was knocking on the front door and Caroline rushed to see who the visitor was.
"You didn't even ask who was at the door." Klaus gravely eyed her as she briskly opened the door for him.
"This is Stefan's house, not many people would be able to get through the really bulky doorman downstairs." She tucked her waits with a hand.
"We are in New York so you would be surprised."
As he stepped inside of the apartment Caroline noticed the huge envelope that he was holding. "What is that?"
Klaus smirked at her. "Something that Santa has left on my doorstep."
"Is that my contract?" She yelped with a little jump.
"Could be." He teased her with a slow raising of his eyebrows.
Caroline covered her mouth with her fingers and eyed him with wide glistening eyes. "I want to see it." She said behind her fingers.
"I don't know if I want to show it to you." He played with her emotions.
"Klaus, I have to see it."
"I don't know if you are ready to see it, it's very large."
Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. "You are being dirty and I just want to see my contract."
He gave in with a chuckle and removed the stack of papers from inside the envelope.
Caroline squealed and sprinted to the sofa where she sat with her legs crossed, she concentrated on that first page for several minutes until she lowered the paper to look at Klaus. "I don't understand a word of what I just read."
Klaus laughed and asked for the paper, Caroline handed them over and scooped closer to him for a close look.
"This is basically a draft, first they tell us what they want and then we demand all the changes that we want." He underlined the first lines for her. "This is the legal introduction with nothing worthy of wasting time, it's merely the designation of the record label and the rights that they own to produce and distribute music." He moved to the second page where he immediately made a few notes. "They assumed that you would have a legal representative making all the decisions for you but I want your name in here."
Caroline smiled due to the beautiful way that he wrote her name but her eyes frantically moved trying to keep up with his notes.
"They stipulated a mandatory number of records…" He crossed the number 2 firmly. "They want to oblige you to put out two records a year."
"That's very little time to work decently on anything." She said aghast.
"One album every two years?" He knew how impossible it would be to negotiate no time limit.
She agreed with a smile. "Sounds reasonable."
He didn't touch the next pages because they were only informative paragraphs about the main policy of the label.
Caroline knew that he reached an important page because he licked his lips and leaned back on the sofa, she tilted her head attempting to read a bunch of pricey words that confused her.
"They are claiming a right to your image." Klaus explained.
"The label would dictate the way that I have to dress from now on?" That much she realized by reading a selective passage.
"Good luck with forcing Caroline Forbes to do anything." He obviously crossed all that nonsense.
Her smile reached her eyes and she pointed at a little corner in the page. "Write how perfect I already am."
"Over my dead unaffected body." He had fun pushing her.
"I don't know what this is." Caroline pointed at something that claimed 50% of profit.
He underlined the rights to her image again. "That means that they will decide a certain look for you and that by contract you have to always appear in public dressed under that previously accorded look. The next part is about owning rights over the image that you will sell, either if they make you out as the girl next door to the vixen who looks innocent but is naughty at heart." He thought about an example. "Take Lana Del Rey, there's an image associated to her and if she had a contract like this it means that if she showed up now with shaved hair and dressed as a sailor she would have to pay her label for the damage of her image."
"She would be breaking a contract that both sides agreed early on."
"Exactly. Which is something that sadly many artist disregard at first, they start off thinking that it's tremendously appealing to have a certain image and to stick to it because that will bring them attention but they forget that that implies they are giving up on the right to simply buy a different coat or change their haircut."
"Everything changes so fast in our world and we get tired so fast of everything that I don't know if any artist could make that contract last."
"The guitarist of AC/DC hasn't changed his outfit in years."
"Yeah but that's on stage and not how he looks like when he's out on a date."
"Are you planning on going on stage wearing a school girl's outfit?"
"No." She twirled her finger around a lock of hair lazily. "But I still have my cheerleader outfit."
"It's a myth that all men get turned on by that."
"That's because you come from a country where they don't take cheerleading serious."
"Oh the sexy librarian…" He wiggled his eyebrows.
They laughed a bit silly but ingeniously making the best of the moment, she was very close to him and the heat from his body was reaching her entirely, it was the same with his smell and she adored that things had come thus far between them, months ago he would take the initiative of moving away from her.
"… percentage means that they want to exploit everything that we sell based on your image, from posters to backpacks with your face."
Caroline nodded pretending that she had been listening to everything and looked at the paper only to instigate him to keep talking, she wasn't getting a single word because she was furtively looking up to his features but he didn't have to know that.
"So that's a big no." He faced her absolutely convinced that she was paying attention to his careful explanation.
"Yes." Caroline sighed, it was a colossal no because he was promised to another woman.
"You appear gloom." He noticed.
"Because we still have many pages to go." She guided her eyes once more to the contract.
"A drink would make it easier." He scanned for Stefan's bar.
"I'm on it." She shot like a bullet towards the kitchen.
Klaus took his jacket and pulled his sleeves up, this was going to take longer than expected as he found himself disagreeing with every new page but his experience led him through a swift reading and he only paused as Caroline arrived with a little tray full of cheese and red wine.
"I would have never imagined." He quickly launched a tease.
She handed him a glass. "It's this about the stinky cheese?"
"I made you like something that you initially opposed strongly." He grinned smugly.
"It's the only thing that I found in the kitchen and don't gloat so much because I'm eating these." She showed him a bag of crunchy Cheetos.
"Such a waste with wine." He complained.
"I'm still so bummed that Francesco's bottle fell from the mantel like that… and no one heard a thing." She placated her grief with a handful of the cheese snack.
"Once we sign this contract, I will buy you a bottle to celebrate."
"It had sentimental value…" She tasted the wine that she had at hands. "It was a special day for us."
Klaus met her gaze and sweetly both of them enjoyed the way that sounded.
A bag of Cheetos later Klaus was finally half way through the contract, his notes took a lot of space on the paper sheets but Caroline was supportive and although she made many questions they were all poignant.
"These are all for Bonnie to revise." He skipped through five entire pages, these were all heavily related to legal issues and he trusted her to milk them as well as she could.
Caroline rubbed her nose annoyed by the smell of the last piece of cheese that he save up. "I had no notion that there was so much to negotiate."
"From the money that they will spend on each record to the franchise of your name there's a list as big as your intolerance to Gorau Glas."
"Would you eat that last piece before I throw up?" She pleaded him softly.
"All right love." He naturally appeased her.
She scooped another inch closer to him and when he rested back on the sofa she was reading the contract over his shoulder, she benefited from it and spotted as he seemingly ignored an entire paragraph.
He was going to join that page with the pile on the coffee table but Caroline rested her palm against it.
"We have to negotiate your share." She complained.
He slowly turned his head to her. "Do you have a problem with my ten percent?"
"I want to change it." She sweetly smiled at him and stole the pen from his hand, she leaned over to write down a beautiful 25.
"You want me to gain 25% of everything that you make?" Klaus didn't hide his stun.
"We're in this together Klaus." She returned the pen to him.
"That's 25% of every record that you sell, every song that plays on the radio or every ticket that you sell on tour." He further explained it to her.
"You deserve it Klaus."
"My brother might object to that." He lowered his eyes from hers, shielding a little from his openness.
"Elijah doesn't know you as much as you hoped that he did." She kept their conversation in a low, close way.
"It's not hope." He smiled sadly. "It was a wish that I shouldn't nest because I left England at a very young age and the years have prevailed between us as harsh as the distance." He looked up. "It has hardened me and made me unrecognizable to my own brother."
"You are not that unreachable."
"Do you have valid proof of what you declare?"
She brought her eyebrows together and pursed her lips while driving her index towards his heart. "I had to drill but I reached the other side of you."
Her expression was so cute that he laughed but she also eased into a laugh, like it happened during the afternoon there was always a lasting moment where their eyes met and remained enchanted with each other.
He caught her hand and their fingers danced a forbidden dance of brushing and almost entwining.
Caroline looked away from him. "Don't look at me like you want to kiss me."
"Sweetheart…"
Caroline yanked herself away from him and started cleaning up the table.
"I need you to look at me." He took her hand, refusing to tell her about his current break unless she had those big emotional blue eyes of hers upon his. "I have something crucial to tell you."
Caroline placed the empty bottle of wine on her lips. "No kissing." She puckered her lips behind the glass.
He loudly laughed and removed the bottle from his way but his intentions were a failure as a consequence of a knock on the door.
Caroline wasn't expecting anyone but it was Klaus who went to the door and his blood seemed to ice and halt inside of his veins by finding Camille there.
"Hi." She fearfully smiled at him.
"What are you doing here?" He hissed unpleased.
Before a word left her mouth Elijah neared the couple.
"I've invited Camille to our dinner since you forgot to slip her the invitation." He said.
Klaus knew exactly what he wanted to slip over to Elijah, a right dry punch.
"I have your suit." Timidly she said.
"You went to my brother for support?" Klaus scolded her.
"Someone needs to clean up your mess." Elijah pushed the door open so that Camille could go inside the apartment.
"I only need to change, I won't be long." She said but without moving.
Caroline was struck by the tension ensuing right now.
"Take your time Camille, I still need to speak to my brother before we leave to the restaurant."
Camille had a small look as she crossed paths with Caroline. "I'm going to use Rebekah's bedroom."
"Caroline, do you mind giving me a minute alone with Niklaus? There's an important family gathering tonight where a big announcement will be made and I need to set the groom's right speech in motion before we arrive to the restaurant."
Caroline gave him a small nod, everything made a perfect match inside of her head, the sudden visit from Elijah and what Klaus was trying to tell her just now.
She gulped down, they were announcing the date of the wedding and she held back her tears rushing to the bedroom for refuge.
"I'm going to assault your face with my fist and it's not going to be a pretty sight." Klaus threatened Elijah.
"Camille came to me in a sobbing attire, was I to turn my back on a crying woman? It's not my way Niklaus."
"You need to stay away from my affairs."
"You called me Niklaus." He held out the suit for Klaus. "Now please go and get dressed so that we can right this wrong."
Darkly he smiled and accepted the suit. "All right."
Camille wasn't a major fan of makeup but she had to conceal the damage that her tears had left and she used the blush generously to hide the paleness of her cheeks, she added a little more lipstick to her lips and closed her clutch enjoying the final look.
She was content until she met with Caroline who was leaving her bedroom and looking better than she would ever look, it was a natural beauty that was hard to brush off and Camille felt as if somehow they were so much alike and yet planets apart.
Caroline left with the smallest smile and she held it immaculate when she saw Klaus in the balcony, he had switched his drink to whiskey and he came to the living room to speak to her.
"Are you going out with the band?" He asked calmly.
"No…" Caroline felt her heart quicken up when there was a motion by the front door. "Enzo called and I accepted to have dinner with him."
Klaus lowered the glass from his lips visibly disturbed and he fulminated Enzo with a glare as the other waltzed inside happy.
"Elijah let me in." He quickly concentrated on Caroline. "You look fantastic."
"Thanks." She looked at Klaus for a goodbye, the date was her way of copping with his advances with Camille, as futile as a bandage covering a bleeding was.
"Don't go." Klaus asked her quietly, begging with his eyes.
"I have to." She only replied.
"We need to leave as well Niklaus." Elijah urged for the scene to end fast.
"Goodnight everyone." Caroline took initiative and was the first to leave.
"Until tomorrow." Enzo winked at Klaus.
It was only a discrete motion but Elijah stopped next to Klaus with his shoulder pressing him against any rash actions. "She's not your concern, Camille is."
Klaus had the rest of his drink with a harsh gulp down.
Katerina, Kol and Bonnie were in the waiting area of the restaurant waiting for the others, it was a famous and current In place and it was crowded even in this part of the posh restaurant.
Katerina filled another glass of champagne and glanced at the couple sitting close to each other and sharing all sorts of complicity looks. "Are you two together again?"
Bonnie smiled as Kol kissed her cheek. "For the time being."
Kol pretended a scoff as he had his drink.
"I like seeing you together." Katerina said with her usual detachment from big emotional words. "I enjoy seeing interracial couples very much."
Bonnie moved her wide open eyes to Kol who chuckled.
The three of them fell into silence again and she blew a gush of air annoyed that Elijah was taking so long to arrive.
Kol took the chance to kiss Bonnie's neck and to pull a small giggle from her but also to merely admire how her skin wrinkled in a shiver.
She eyed him for décor but he couldn't care less where they were and kissed her lips softly.
"I'm not going back to your hotel room." She said between teeth.
"I was hoping to move back home myself." He said in a way that sounded like a sweet plea.
She kissed him back on the lips. "It's your last chance Kol, don't ruin it."
He nodded serious now, he was not planing on it, not even planing on having any unexpected occurrences.
"Thank goodness." Katerina dropped as soon as she saw Elijah. "You know how much I dread to wait." She was wearing really high heels so she almost surpassed Elijah's height when she stood.
He kissed her lightly to apologize. "Forgive me my dear but circumstances were harder to control than I anticipated."
Bonnie and Kol also stood from the seater sofa and he lovingly crossed his arm behind her back, tucking her waist with his hand while she leaned against him.
"The negotiations went well, I assume." Klaus smiled at the couple.
Kol beamed at his brother. "Mrs Mikaelson has accepted me back."
It was something that left Klaus happy.
"That's wonderful of her." Camille spoke right next to Klaus.
"Everyone's here…" Kol mumbled because Camille made him nervous, she was too serious all the time.
"Yes, it's a joyful occasion and even though Rebekah couldn't join us, tonight will be a chance to celebrate in family." Elijah distributed the champagne.
"What are we celebrating exactly?" Bonnie felt a bit like the intruder because she had been separated from Kol for a while and big Mikaelson gatherings made her nervous.
"I have an important communication to make." Klaus held his glass up high and divided his stare between Elijah and Camille. "I'm officially breaking off my engagement with Camille, in front of all of my family." He leaned his glass to Elijah. "Don't worry, I have already informed Rebekah and her husband."
Elijah was pale, all of his blood fled to his shoes while Katerina was entirely clueless.
"Cheers." Kol broke the silence only to have Bonnie shut him up with her eyes.
"You are acting on some unthought impulse." Camille stared at him in disbelief.
"I had all day to deliberate and my only sorrow so far is that I haven't made this choice sooner. We are no longer betrothed Camille."
She started to cry again while he walked away.
"Please don't make a scene Chamomile." Katerina begged her in a low voice.
Kol hurried after Elijah and Klaus, he walked into a heated fight that was happening outside the restaurant.
"That's not how you respected the dead." Elijah shouted enraged at Klaus.
"Don't tell me that without a clue of how I had to deal with this obligation while I was falling in love with someone else." Klaus kept his voice low.
"An obligation that no one forced on you to start with." Elijah grabbed his arm so that Klaus would face him properly. "You will not disgrace this family and simply walk away on your honor to go after some random common girl who lives a fantasy that she knows you."
Klaus shook Elijah's hand away. "Don't force me to walk out tonight on something more than just a façade of an engagement."
"I didn't know you for a coward." Elijah lastly said.
The blow hit him harder than a straight hook and Klaus turned away with despondency crossing his features.
Elijah tried to go after him but Kol stopped him by cutting him off. "Let him go Elijah." He went as far as placating him with a hand pressing his chest.
"He's… unwell." Elijah tried to explain the irrational behavior the best way that he could.
"You're seeing this the wrong way." Kol tried to tell him.
"How so?" Elijah eyed him as if he was the fool now.
"Nik's happiness has been like life on a desert, parched because of father and Nik's apathy towards this ongoing lack of life led him to the monumental mistake of insisting on a relationship with Camille although he never felt anything for her. You don't live here and you don't know how agonizing it was to witness his acceptance of something that he never wanted in the first place."
"You believe that my absence has left me blind to what's really happening?"
Kol sighed. "I think that you're refusing to see Nik's side in this and that your high moral compass is louder than anything that anyone is saying right now so you need to go home and to think about what you're doing because in this family, we matter the most." He reminded him.
Bonnie waited for him quietly by the door. "Do you still want to have dinner?" She asked as he circled his arms around her.
He shook his head. "I want to go home with you."
She agreed happy to just leave the family fight altogether.
Stefan's house was a safe bet to have a quiet night and Klaus knew that he would have all the alcohol that he needed, it was one of those situations where he was going to enjoy whiskey while keeping an eye on the door, Caroline wouldn't be home soon but he was going to monitor her safe return home until he fell asleep on the sofa.
Caroline turned around when he arrived, she was standing by the glass doors of the balcony and she sniffled again, the tears were menacing to increase by any second.
"I'm going to kill him." Klaus dropped the words as fast as he dropped his keys on the lobby table.
"It wasn't Enzo." She said. "I left the restaurant even before we reached the main course."
Suddenly Klaus was hopeful that she had taken the same walking out attitude that he did but there was something eerie about the way that she looked. "What happened love?"
"One of my mom's deputies called me while I was at the restaurant…" She paused to harvest some strength. "My mom was out on a routine patrol and she lost consciousness while she was at the wheel, she lost control of the car and had a small accident."
Klaus neared her anticipating that there was more to the story.
"She didn't hurt herself in the accident but they made some tests to find out why she fainted and they discovered that there's something wrong with her." Caroline's voice dropped right there. "Something really bad…" She began to cry. "My mom has cancer Klaus."
He shielded her against him and Caroline cried in his arms and against his chest.
Soundtrack:
Spending my time – Roxette
Ironic - Alanis Morissette
Almost lover – A Fine Frenzy
Poison – Rita Ora (acoustic version)
In this shirt – The Irrepressibles (Original version)