Paradise for the Lost

...

the injured lover's hell

...

(\o/)

Nor jealousy

Was understood, the injured lover's hell.

John Milton, Paradise Lost

(\o/)

Klaus wakes up early in the morning and trudges to the kitchen to make some coffee. If you think he has a guilty conscience and therefore can't sleep, you're wrong. He sleeps like a baby. It's just waking up that he doesn't like.

With his hair messy and eyes half-shut he passes through the living room lazily scratching his stomach, yawning, murmuring something about caffeine addiction, he glances at Caroline sitting on the couch and fervently typing something on Kol's laptop, then disappears in the kitchen.

WAIT.

Caroline doing WHAT?

It takes him two seconds to rewind the tape and pop back to the living room. She doesn't even notice him nestled down on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, with five pieces of evidence of a committed crime-five empty cups of coffee-left on the table. She looks hypnotized, staring at the screen, dark circles under her eyes indicating a sleepless night. The blonde is still typing like a robot.

"Caroline?" Klaus frowns.

Typing.

"Ca-ro-line."

Still typing.

"CAROLINE!" He bellows at her making her jump in her seat.

"What?" The vacant look on her face tells him she's still operating on autopilot mode. That's why she doesn't notice he hasn't shaved, like, for days, and that he' still scratching his stomach lifting the T-shirt up.

"What are you doing?" He shakes his head trying to cope with a new situation with Caroline being a zombie.

"I'm sailing."

"You're what?"

"Sailing the Internet."

"You mean surfing."

"I mean go away." Caroline sets her eyes back on the screen, then she giggles like a teenager. And she blushes. Blushes.

"You were up all night, weren't you?" Klaus takes a few wary steps forward, but she's ignoring him again. "Caroline!"

"What?!" She glowers at him like he just ate a bunny before her very eyes. Before she can react, he snatches the device from her lap and looks at her browser. His lips form a tight, straight line as his eyes flare with anger.

"Match com? Really?"

"I always wanted to be a cupid!" She reaches for the computer but he backs away, leaving her tangled in the blanket. While she struggles to free herself from the folds, he reads aloud.

"Damon Salvatore."

"Give it back!" Caroline demands, standing on the couch in her pink pajamas, her hair looking like a bird's nest.

Klaus doesn't give up. "You were flirting with him all night?"

"So what?" She pouts.

"On the Internet?" Unbelievable, he thinks. Freaking unbelievable.

"It's called chatting, you know. In case you haven't noticed, we live in the 21st century." Caroline snaps huffily at him. "FYIit means for your informationhe's my smoking hot date tonight." The last part punches Klaus right in the face. He stares at her with his eyes wide and his mouth open. HE is her date tonight, has she gone mad or is she still in denial?

"It seems like you didn't do the math, Caroline." He mutters, holding back his rising anger. "Five people mean there's one too much for a double date."

"I spoke with Kol. I threatened to delete his porn folder and he begged me not to. We settled for a triple date." She announces innocently, but holy cookies how she enjoys that. In your face, Klaus.

"And you're going with Damon the cyber-gigolo?" Klaus snorts.

"Just so you know, he's very sensitive and charming."

"Let me guess, his favourite movie is the Notebook, and he likes Taylor Swift."

"How do you know?"

"I'd write the same damn thing on my profile if I wanted to seduce all the naive girls on this planet."

"Fortunately, I'm too smart to be seduced by you." She gives him the fakest smile in the world, then takes Kol's laptop and heads to her room. A hand falls on her shoulder stopping her from moving, and she turns to face the devil and his cocky smirk. (He can smirk all he wants, Caroline knows he's peeved.)

"Let me refresh your memory, loveI did it just two nights ago."

"Oh wait, you call that one-nighter seducing me?" The blonde derides him. "Just to be clear, you might have been the first, but certainly you won't be the last."

She saunters off to her room, and before she closes the door she sends him a jeering grin, "Good luck with finding a date for tonight."

(\o/)

Caroline, with her hair in curlers and a moisturising mask on her face

(Kol sees her once and pretends to have a heart attack, shouting "Call Perseus! Medusa is here!" then gets hit with a shoe)

—spends the whole day looking for a dating tips on various websites. Finally she's able to create a compilation of rules she should be adhering to.

Look gorgeous. She's opting for a nice pair of red heels, and very tight jeans.

Do not revel too much about yourself. Sure, she'll be enigmatic like the Bermuda triangle.

Always keep the guy waiting. Well, if she happens to turn up earlier she'll hide in the bushes. He'll wait till bugs eat her.

Never talk about previous boyfriends. Like she's ever had one! The only guy that she shouldn't be talking about will be right there with them.

Never ever come across as too available or too desperate. Just because she slept with a spawn of Satan himself, it doesn't mean she's available or desperate. (Does it?)

Create the need in him for you. She will! That's what push-up bras are for.

And last but not least: Be yourself. Right. Because it worked so damn well the last time she was with a man...

(\o/)

All three of them agree to meet at 8 pm and go bowling. Kol leaves earlier to pick up Meredith. Caroline and Klaus are waiting for their dates in front of the bowling alley. Klaus is looking in every direction that does not involve her. The angel looks stunning in her outfit and he just can't stop gazing at her as she walks swaying her hips.

Damon Salvatore turns out to be even a bigger jerk than Klaus thought. When he swaggers to Caroline and gallantly kisses her hand before handing her a single red rose, Klaus just want to puke rainbow. When Damon's hand wraps around Caroline's waist as he eye-fucks her for what seems like forever, Klaus' fists clench, ready to strike. Caroline giggles and smiles, and obviously enjoys being adored. She knows it's all just an act, but she wants that act. She wants a man to win her, not claim her.

Damon fixes his predatory blue eyes on her, then puts his lips against her ear and whispers, "You are so beautiful you must be an angel." She flushes and smiles at him coyly.

When she told Klaus she's going with Damon, he wanted to punch the wall and throw the laptop through the window. But then he decided to use one asset Caroline didn't know. And this asset has just arrived.

"Rose!" He grins.

"Long time no see, you devil." A pair of bright green eyes seems to be glistening in the dark. With clicking of the heels, a woman emerges from the shadows. A brunette with short hair and a piercing stare. Caroline can't take her eyes off her. Rose, as Klaus calls her, is emanating something alluring and... supernatural. She walks up to Klaus and pats him on the shoulder. They just smile at each other like there is something only the two of them know. Caroline grits her teeth and turns away, then catches Damon staring hungrily at her.

"W-what?" She stutters.

"Nothing, Blondie." He smirks. "Let's go inside, we'll wait for your other flatmate at a bar."

(\o/)

They sit by a table, Caroline with Damon, and Klaus with Rose. The angel pouts from time to time, but Damon buys her off with cookies and makes her pouty face go away.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Damon asks, while Caroline sighs with relief, she's too proud to ask them herself yet she's just dying to know. Who is that... Rose? And why do they keep smiling at each other the way Caroline doesn't like at all? Did he sleep with her? Does she love him? Oh no, and what if he loves her? And why does Caroline care for goodness sake!

"We're old friends." Rose smiles at Damon.

"Very old friends." Klaus smirks and snatches a cookie from Caroline's plate. She retaliates with a killer glare and Klaus theatrically clutches at his chest in response.

"Yeah, so old you probably joke in Latin." Caroline munches on her cookie. Damon gives her a weird look, so she shrugs, "Never mind."

"And how did you two meet?" Rose asks Damon making Klaus burst with laughter. He almost chokes on his food.

"Yes, Caroline, please, do tell us."

Caroline bites her lip. Of course they will make fun of her and Damon. Online dating is for desperate losers, every one knows it.

"In a way, we spent all night together, didn't we, Caroline?" Damon winks at her, and she tilts her head, amused.

"Yeah, in fact we did."

"Chatting all night, it was the best night in my life, and believe me, I had many good ones." Damon's mocking, sinister gaze is directed right at Klaus. The devil's upper lip curls with anger—you peasant you—but he doesn't say anything.

"I must say she's amazing." Damon wraps an arm around Caroline and pulls her closer. "I can't believe you're single, Blondie, but we'll fix it." A cunning grin spreads on his face.

Klaus squints his eyes at him, but before he can stand up and stab Damon in the eye with a plastic spoon, Kol's voice resounds in the air. Caroline turns her head to face the latecomers.

"Sorry for being late." Kol stands with his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans, still being visibly nervous around Meredith.

"I had to see one more patient and itDAMON?" Meredith gasps.

"Meredith Fell!" Damon's eyes lighten up then narrow at her. "You never said you had a younger brother."

"I'm not her brother." Kol chimes in, but Damon ignores him and continues.

"Congratulations. You're doing well after Rick dumped you."

"I'm sure you and vodka helped him forget." Dr Fell snaps as she crosses her arms.

Kol's stare travels from Meredith to Damon and back to Meredith, then he frowns at Caroline, What the fuck? She shakes her head, I had no idea!

"Let bygones be bygones, Mer." Damon gulps down the rest of his beer. "Let's go bowling!"

(\o/)

"I'm going home." Meredith tells Kol while Caroline cheers on Damon as he knocks down all ten pins. Damon Salvatore turns out to be her ex-boyfriend's toxic friend, and her day has been too tiring to add Damon to that equation. She was blaming Damon for her and Rick's split-up, but when she met Kol she understood that it wasn't about Damon. It was about her and how Rick used to put everything else above Meredith's interest.

"Are you sure?" Kol looks at her pleadingly. Damn it, of all people in the whole world Caroline must have picked Damon for a date!

"I wanted to unwind like you told me to. But this... He's not anyone's friend, Kol. Damon is a leech." As she puts on her jacket, Caroline leaves the others and comes to Dr Fell with an apologetic look on her face.

"I really didn't know"

"It's okay, Caroline." Meredith smiles understandingly. "Just don't trust him. He's not a good guy."

"Listen, I'll walk you home. Night's warm, we can get some fresh air." Kol offers. To his utter surprise, she agrees. He expected her to refuse, so he would have to insist, but for the first time she's not harsh on him. Quite the contrary, she lets him hold her hand as they head towards the exit. When Kol looks back, Caroline smiles encouragingly and gives him two thumbs up. He smiles back and opens the door for his date. Caroline sighs, at least Kol still has a chance to spend a nice evening. She still feels responsible for him, it's probably never going to end. She saved him, she cared for him then and so she does now.

Caroline is on her way back to join the game when she stops dead in her tracks. Damon and Rose are making out on the leather seats by their table. At first she can't believe it. But the way Damon's hands move up and grab Rose's breasts can't be mistaken for a friendly massage. Or the movement of his lips can't be deemed a first aid kiss. He's all over her, looking at her with hazy eyes while she tilts her head back and smiles lazily.

"Don't blame the guy, Blondie." Caroline hears Klaus mocking her behind her back. She spins around and glares at his amused face. "It's impossible for humans to resist her." He explains, still having fun. "She touches him and he's lost." Klaus pokes Caroline on the shoulder to prove his point, but she just grimaces.

"What is she?"

"A succubus." He grins smugly. Caroline's jaw drops.

"You brought a succubus to my date?!" She can't believe her ears. "How could you!" It's like he sandbagged her. She's just been hit in the face with bad fish, then stabbed in the back, then kicked in the guts, and then stabbed once more. Caroline can feel her blood rushing through her veins, her heart beating faster, her ears getting red. If she was a kettle, she would be letting steam out through her ears.

"Technically, it was our da"

Caroline stamps her foot in anger. "Oh shut up! Don't you dare give me excuses now!"

Klaus raises his eyebrows. He has seen her in various moods, from happily drunk to extremely sad, but this is the first time she's soberly furious and... hurt. Truth be told Klaus didn't think she would be that upset about Damon and Rose hooking up. He's just a guy she met via a dating site after all. His intentions were anything but good. He listed the Notebook as his favourite movie for goodness sake! Only the scum of the earth do that to lure innocent girls into a trap. (A smart move for a human, Klaus has to admit.)

"Take it easy, sweetheart." He tries to appease her with a charming smile, but she's not buying it. "No need to vent your frustration on me."

"You jerk." The angel hisses, shaking her head. "You did it on purpose." There's no words to describe her disappointment. Yes, he did disappoint her. But he's a devil after all, a vicious creature, how could she even think he wouldn't try to spite her? She's a fool.

"You just had to make my day miserable, didn't you?" Caroline's voice is bitter and trembling. Klaus opens his mouth to argue, but she hushes him. "You are feeling miserable, so everyone has to be too. Well done, Klaus, you can be proud."

She successfully wipes the smirk off his face. "Caroline, I didn't"

"Yes, you did. And you enjoyed it so much." Her eyes water. "First you try to seduce me treating me like a work of art, then you snub me, then you say I'm amazing, but you can't give me what I want."

Klaus' jaw tightens. It wasn't supposed to go this way.

"Yet when I decide to actually live my life and be happy for the last two weeks on Earth you do everythingeverything you can!to ruin it! I just wanted to feel special and adored, even if only for one day." Her face is so cold and pale it looks like an ice block.

"I despise you, you... wretched hell-hound." She wishes she had enough mental strength to slap him across the cheek. She would hit him, and then bang her fists against his chest until her couldn't breathe. Damn you Klaus, you bloody idiot!

Klaus stands there dumbstruck and speechless, and watches her leave. She is right. He did it on purpose. He did it to spite her. He felt absolutely satisfied when her heart sank at the sight of Damon dumping her for Rose.

He enjoys her misery, because she can't be his.

(\o/)

''So, yeah, sorry for tonight.'' Kol fiddles with his fingers as they stand in front of Meredith's apartment. They've been walking in circles because the night air is incredibly refreshing, and the conversation flows like a river. He tells her about his mother who died before he moved to LA, and how he keeps having those weird dreams about a family he never had. He makes her laugh when he announces that he'll rule the world one day. He's so sure about it she actually shares his enthusiasm. Meredith tells him a story from her childhood, when she wanted a dog, but she got a younger sister instead. She was so angry at her parents that when her sister started to crawl on all fours Meredith took her for a walk keeping the kid on a lead like a dog. It feels so good to laugh with Kol. So natural.

''To hell with Damon. I had a lot of fun tonight anyway.'' She gives him a warm, keen smile.

''Good night then.'' He smiles back and shrugs, taking a step backwards. Then two hands pull him forward once more, and before he knows what hit him, Meredith's lips crash into his.

(\o/)

She ends up on the rooftop of the building they live in. Los Angeles looks incredible by night. Even more so if you're standing on top of a building in a total silence, the only noise you hear is the wind. The sky is cloudless and peppered with stars, like someone scattered sugar on a black fluffy carpet. They are twinkling as if they want to cheer Caroline up.

She wipes a single tear that rolls down her cheek. Maybe she overreacted. Maybe she just should keep her personal life away from Klaus' spying eye. Personal life, Caroline snorts, that's a good one! She isn't even supposed to have a personal life. Even if she wins over Klausand she better doeswhat life awaits her if not just an eternity somewhere over the rainbow. Eternity with Elena and her terrible singing. Eternity with Bonnie bossing Caroline around.

Eternity without Kol's fooling around and Klaus' snarky comments.

She'll be alone like Van Gogh's ear.

There is no win-win for her.

While the warm summer air caresses her cheeks she hears footsteps behind her. Was someone following her? Then she takes a deep breath and knows it's Klaus. Only that son of a gun smells like spiced wine and ginger.

''Caroline.'' He chokes out, but she still stays with her back to him, propped on her elbows resting on the low brick wall, not particularly eager to see his face. You can't blame her, can you?

''Are you serious?'' She shakes her head, and all he sees is her blonde curls bouncing. ''Take a hint.''

''Don't be angry, love. We had a little spat. I'm over it already.'' Klaus jokes like it's the most natural thing on Earth. Caroline's eyes bulge. He really is a bloody, clueless idiot. Sometimes she does see the common idiot-gene he and his brother share.

''But I'm not.'' Caroline snorts, her eyes fixed on a skyscraper on the other side of the city. She feels he's getting closer and closer, bur she refuses to turn around and look him in the eyes. No, he does not deserve her attention. He can follow her and haunt her like a ghost for all she cares. (In fact a mental image of Klaus wearing a white sheet and going trick-or-treating with a basket makes her giggle inwardly.)

He's right behind her when she grumbles, ''You, your lovey-dovey names, and your romantic drawings can leave me alone.''

With his face tense and unreadable, Klaus grabs her by the shoulders making her instantly freeze. His deep blue eyes bore into hers, and if Damon's eye-fuck was sexy, then this one makes her ovaries explode. Boom, you're dead. Her heart skips a beat.

''I'm sorry, sweetheart,'' he purrs in a low voice that sends shivers down her spine, ''I wish I could.''

Gathering the last crumbs of her courage, Caroline takes a deep breath and mumbles, ''Well, at least we agree on tha'' but her air supply gets cut off when Klaus growls something that sounds like just shut up love, and presses his lips onto hers with such force Caroline's knees go totally weak right on the spot. His arms wrap around her, one hand dives into her hair while the other lands on the small of her back, pushing her closer, her body moulding into his. When Caroline opens her eyes she sees his are still closed as his kiss lingers on her lips. He kisses her again and again, each time making it shorter but more passionate before he can't control it any more and lets his hand travel to the bottom of her top and sneak under it. So much pent up anger and frustration in both of them make it impossible to hold back. Klaus' lips travel down her neck, sucking and nibbling at it, while his hands hold firmly onto her hips and butt.

''You're such an idiot sometimes.'' She pants as she tugs on his T-shirt and rolls it up his back. He does the same to her, and the garments end up discarded on the ground.

''Aren't we a pair.'' He smirks against her collarbone as he fumbles with the zipper of her jeans. The way her nails scratch at his bare back drives him crazy. And so does her red underwearwhen he thinks it could be Damon right now seeing her half-naked, tearing the clothes off her and touching her exactly when Klaus' hands are, a wave of possessiveness takes over him. He kicks his jeans off and lays Caroline on the ground. The roof is still warm from all the sunshine it accumulated during the day, and when Caroline opens her eyes and looks up, she sees the limitless black firmament falling down right onto her, making her head spin, a black hole consuming her. The night sky, millions of stars, and planetsthe eternal wanderers watch as Caroline's bare thighs welcome Klaus as he moves inside of her, ravishing her while still caressing her face with kisses and whispers. Caroline's eyes flutter and get hazy, but before she closes them to lose herself in ecstasy she sees Ursa Major, the only constellation that never sinks in the Ocean, that never gives up. She won't either.

Caroline moans when his hand kneads her breast. Klaus' tongue glides over her neck, and he breathes to her ear, ''Come with me.'' Surprised, she turns her head so she can face him, but can't speak as his mouth claims her in an ardent kiss. Shivering under him, distracted by his deep thrusts, Caroline manages to whimper, ''What?'' Her back grinds against the coarse concrete ground.

''Let me take you with me'' He huffs, out of breath, hovering above her, ''to Hell.'' Caroline doesn't say anything, just gasps and moans his name. She doesn't want to spoil this moment by telling him she could never do that. There's nothing more terrifying for her than fangs and never ending blood lust. She could never become a monster and stay in Hell among them. She couldn't live like that.

Klaus' fingers intertwine with hers as he stretches her hands above her head, pinning her to the ground, getting close to the release. A few seconds later they both tremble and then freeze, gasping, fighting for breath. They breathe deeply, feeling the fever slowly subside.

(\o/)

There are in no hurry lying on the rooftop, naked and sated, watching a falling star travel across the sky.

''You should make a wish.'' He says, pressing his lips against her temple.

''I already did.'' Caroline closes her eyes blissfully. She did make one, against her better judgement and all hopes.

After a while they decide to get back home, fortunately having it just a few floors beneath. When they sit up on the ground, Caroline looks around and slaps her hand onto her forehead.

''Holy cookies!''

''What's wrong?'' Klaus frowns at her, confused.

''Klaus. Our clothes.'' Or rather their absence. Caroline's eyes widens in horror. ''The wind... it swept them away.''

..

.

..

A/N: Okay, this bitch of a chapter is over 4000 words long. Damn it. Sorry, it just happened.

Thank you all for your words of support, it meant a lot to me. You guys are the best.

.

(Honestly I hate writing sex scenes, but at the same time I can't imagine characters only holding hands and staring at each other. So, you know, there's a lot of other stuff going on in this chapter that you can focus on. Don't beat me.)