Why lookie here! I updated twice this month. Yeah, I did finish writing a chapter tonight so I figured it meant I could post another chapter. Writing is still not as fast paced as before but I'm feeling more optimistic and I'm getting words down—even if it is just a couple hundred in an evening.
Thanks you hannahperry85 for her prereading awesomeness. I did look this through and hopefully caught all the mistakes. So I guess you can say it's semi-betaed. All mistakes are mine though.
The characters aren't mine, they belong to their respective media outlets.
Enjoy
Their night wasn't completely platonic—he caught Caroline looking at him a few times during dinner and if he wasn't mistaken, she looked at him with the same fondness they shared that day. He was certain she caught him staring at her—given the way she responded with a smirk before quickly looking down at her plate.
The ride was silent as he drove them back to the factory —both contemplating on their evening together. For Caroline, she experienced new dishes, learned some history about Atlanta and most importantly, she enjoyed spending it with Klaus. She knew she wasn't ready to jump into another relationship, especially when she just got over one and was still having to deal with the fall out. If this was Klaus showing his actual feelings, Caroline knew it would be easy to. She had a feeling human Caroline would probably have done that very thing.
Klaus hoped to finish the evening with a kiss goodnight—more if it was reciprocated. He couldn't stop thinking about pulling her into his arms and running his fingers through her hair. The idea of feeling her in his arms was something he kept replaying in his mind since they got in his car. The uncertainty, however, stopped him from giving into his desire—he reminded himself over the course of the drive, to follow her lead. Afterall, she wasn't just meant to be a quick romp for him—she was more and for that reason alone, he needed to control himself and his errant thoughts.
"Thank you for dinner," Caroline said when he stopped the car. She looked over at Klaus and gave him a radiant smile. "I had a really good time."
"It was my pleasure, Caroline," Klaus replied after helping her out. He held out his arm for her as he walked her to her car. "Do you know how to get back to your hotel?"
"I think so. Bonnie and I have a room at the Embassy, which isn't far from where you are. Plus my car has GPS."
"Well, if you'd like to follow my car out, you're more than welcome to."
Once he got her car door open, they stood there quietly, staring into each other's eyes. Caroline took a small step forward and rested her hands on his chest. She reached up and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, lingering for a breath before moving back. "Good night Klaus, thank you again," she whispered and climbed into her hatchback.
He shut the door and waited until her engine started before he returned to his car.
"Oh my god," she whispered to herself once she got the car in gear and followed Klaus' back towards Buckhead. It was only supposed to be an innocent kiss goodnight, but the feel of his soft stubble against her lips brought back memories of that afternoon—not that she could ever forget how it set her skin on fire. Her fingers brushed along her lips a couple times before she realized she should pay attention to Klaus' car and the road. When they stopped at a stoplight, she took a deep, calming breath and waited for the light to change. She checked her phone and saw the message from Bonnie about staying at the Mandarin. While she was surprised by the message, she hoped it also meant good news. She decided that she'll take a nice warm shower, perhaps take care of her little situation, and have a good night's rest for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Klaus' emotions didn't fair any better. While it was supposed to be an innocent, goodnight kiss, it brought back memories for him as well—her soft lips against his skin, the way she raked her nails over his body in the heat of passion. One day, he reminded himself, recalling his vow to her that he'll be her last love. He looked up at his rear view mirror and saw her car following his back toward their respective hotels. He knew there would be no sleep for him tonight; not that he often slept. He decided to channel his emotions elsewhere. Feeling particularly inspired, he figured he'd go back to Kol's place and do some painting.
When Klaus returned to his suite, Rebekah was sitting at the table looking through the notes. Grimoires still covered the table since both Bonnie and Aria decided to leave them before they left to sleep.
"How was your evening?" Rebekah asked when her brother walked towards her.
"It was pleasant. Where is everybody?" He kept his reply short, not wanting to be interrogated by his sister.
Rebekah explained what had transpired during the evening. "They're at her place getting some rest. Aria mentioned how she'll need to tap into the ancient magic and needed the energy."
"And they left their grimoires here?"
"Bonnie said she might come back over early in the morning but wasn't sure. It didn't make sense to transport them back and forth at this late hour."
"You didn't cause any trouble, did you?"
Rebekah rolled her eyes and glared at her brother. "I'm not stupid, Nik. I am able to comport myself when dealing with adversaries. Whatever this is, it's big and I'm not about to let personal differences get in the way of working together. Besides, I think we've achieved détante tonight."
"We have so much at stake, I just don't want to run the risk of losing," Klaus admitted as he sat down on one of the chairs next to hers. It was rare for him to show his vulnerability but out of all his siblings, Rebekah was the only one he allowed to see him at this state. Besides, he could tell from the way she flipped from one grimoire to another that she felt the same way.
"I don't either," she replied, no longer angry at Nik. "So where did you and the cheerleader go?"
"Caroline," he grumbled. "Her name is Caroline." He was ready to make more of a fuss over his sister's impudence but decided it would certainly draw more attention than he wanted. "We went to the restaurant Elijah owns."
"The old brothel building? I thought that was where you went. Bonnie showed us the picture Caroline sent her." She was lost in thought for a brief moment before she looked back up at her brother. "That's the place where where Bruno worked, right?" Rebekah looked down at her book as memories of one of their turn of the century trips out to Atlanta flooded her brain.
It had been a few months after narrowly escaping Mikael in New Orleans and they were now living in Chicago. Even though they were in a new city, they still needed to look for escape routes and would set out on periodic trips, looking for new places that afforded them the ability live quietly with a steady enough population for them to feed off of. Atlanta was on their list once again but once they got there, they realized it was just too close to New Orleans and they couldn't take that risk so soon after having just left there. As much as they enjoyed the city, they had to look elsewhere but before they left, he took her to the restaurant where a young man, Bruno, served them.
"Yes but I didn't inquire about him. I do believe a descendent of his has taken over as maître d'. His name is Mario and he's the spitting image of Bruno. The food is wonderful, perhaps even more so than the last time we dined there." Klaus got up and started to walk towards his adjoining room.
"Hmm, maybe I should go there for dinner tomorrow night." A moment later, Klaus returned with a duffel bag and was heading towards the door. "Where are you going, Nik?"
"I thought I'd go back to Kol's place and perhaps do some painting. Perhaps move some more furniture out of the smaller bedroom so it's more welcoming for our second meeting tomorrow."
"Okay, the girls are coming back here in the morning to gather their things."
He handed the car keys over to his sister. "Bring some refreshments with you, it might be a long day tomorrow and we want everybody to be comfortable."
"I'm not going to one of those stores again, Nik."
"Well, call up the concierge and have something brought over from catering or something." Klaus shook his head irritably, eager to be alone and do some painting.
"How are you getting to Kol's then?"
"I can just call a cab." He noticed the look she was giving him, as though any moment, he would attack her and honestly, he couldn't blame her as he had on numerous occasions. "It's okay, little sister. I'm willing to ride in a hired car so we can make sure our witch is comfortable tomorrow. Sometimes we need to step outside our comfort zone." There was too much at stake not to, he added in his mind.
~Embassy Suites~
After a long, hot, and very enjoyable shower, Caroline was ready for sleep. She got into bed and shut the lights after setting her alarm. Unfortunately, the room wasn't as quiet as she hoped for and it felt as though the darkness only heightened the noises around her. She could hear the dripping of a shower from the room closest to her bed. Above her, someone was watching a movie and from the sounds, it was definitely not what she wanted to hear. Down the hotel corridor, she could hear the ding of the elevator, followed by kids running down the hallway and then back up again. At that moment, she wished she was still human because she wouldn't have noticed the sounds coming at all.
She tossed and turned and even tried covering one pillow over her head but with her sensitive hearing, it was no use. Maybe if she wasn't as tired, it wouldn't have bothered her, but she was and growing crankier by the second. She sat up and turned on the lights as she quickly pondered what to do. She could go over to the Mandarin and see if she could crash at the Mikaelsons but quickly dismissed the idea. She didn't want to show up uninvited or worse, looking like a stalker and having to explain to Rebekah why she was there.
She got out of bed and threw her hair into a messy ponytail before changing from her pajamas to a pair of yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt. She quickly threw some things into her bag and walked out to her car. She couldn't help but smile when she opened her hatchback—Bonnie had teased her when she brought her pillow from the dorm along with a sleeping bag with them on the road trip.
"Care, hotels do have bedding. Why are you bringing it?"
"Because, what if something happens and we get stuck on the side of the road and there's no hotel nearby?"
"Ha! See, I knew it would come in handy," she muttered triumphantly to herself as she got into the car and started the motor.
Klaus was wiping one of his brushes as he stared at the exposed brick wall. It hadn't taken him long at all to get to the factory—the hotel summoned their chauffeur for him almost immediately, eager to please a guest staying at their luxurious suites. As soon as he arrived, he changed into his painting clothes and covered the entire wall with blacks and greys. Once one section was dry, he started to paint ghostly lines in what looked like random patterns. He was about to add to his painting when he heard a car pull up.
He quietly gathered his supplies and hid them in the first bathroom before shutting all the lights when he heard the door to the building open. Only the windows kept the building from looking completely pitch dark. Was it the witch coming here to wreak havoc or some poor human who found themselves lost? Either way, he smirked as imagined attacking the intruder and draining them of their blood.
Caroline wasn't sure why she drove here, she had found the building interesting when they had their meeting earlier and she felt more at ease here than in her loud hotel—enough she was willing to spend the night alone. She parked her car in front of the building and grabbed her things, not caring that a typical human probably wouldn't be able to easily balance a carry-on size case along with a sleeping bag and her fluffy pillow. She figured it was late at night and obviously the street looked deserted—the nearest car was a more than a block away.
She easily got into the building and huffed her things up the metal stairs. The large door was lifted so she just walked right in and noticed a strange but familiar smell that wasn't there earlier. Remembering where she had seen a light switch, she felt along the wall for it and flipped it, encasing the room with dim lighting. The first thing she noticed was a tarp on the floor and paint splatters. She walked over to it and noticed the smell was from the paint and it was fresh.
"Oh shit," she whispered dropping her things onto the floor in shock and mortification. She looked around, realizing Klaus had to be here.
"Imagine my surprise that the good sheriff's daughter is breaking and entering," Klaus drawled as he sauntered in from the hallway. He hadn't expected Caroline to show up, especially carrying overnight things. He would have guessed something happened between her and Bonnie but he had been assured by his sister the former Bennett witch was staying at Aria's flat. He wasn't complaining that she was here as he watched her shift her weight nervously while avoiding his gaze.
"I um… I was hearing noises in the room and it was too much. One room was watching porn another had a leaky faucet… and then the dinging! And then the kids! It was horrible!" She started pacing about and kept throwing her hands up in the air in agitation. "I didn't want to go to your hotel and look like a crazy stalker. Plus I had my pillow and stuff in the car so here I am."
Just like the time she showed up at his house rambling about her prom dress, he was having a hard time stopping himself from chuckling.
"Are you laughing at me?" she asked, frowning at him. She didn't want her gaze to linger too long though. It was hard ignoring him on a normal basis but there was something about his paint splattered clothes that she found devastatingly handsome. You're getting sleep deprived, Care.
He held a finger up and flashed over to the refrigerator taking a couple blood bags out for them, taking advantage of the moment to regroup and once again look serious. "Here, you're looking a little paler than normal," he murmured as he pulled the stopper out. "And for the record, since you broke into my family property, I think laughing at you is sufficient punishment." He gave her a wink before holding his blood bag up as a toast.
"This is your place?" she asked and clapped her hand over her eyes, wishing the floor would open up right now. Of course it wasn't just some random place they met, she chided herself.
"Technically it was Kol's but Rebekah and I decided to keep this place in the family. That's why I was here tonight, to do some painting." He noticed she was silent, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment so he motioned her to follow him. "I want to show you something," he explained when Caroline gave him a questioning look.
He walked over to the recessed area and opened the door to the roof. Caroline followed him up the stairs and gasped when she reached the top. "It's beautiful up here," she whispered.
"This used to be an old factory…" Klaus told Caroline all that he knew of the building and Kol had been so happy about this place. "I had set aside some art pieces for him but then we had a bit of a falling out." He took a deep breath and stared out towards the Atlanta skyline.
"Klaus," she said and turned towards him. "I'm really sorry about Kol. I should have said something that… but I was rude and things got heated…"
Klaus held his hand up to stop her. "Thank you, Caroline," he whispered. "I must apologize for hurting you, I was not myself at that moment and I took my anguish and aggression out on you." It wasn't an easy thing for him to say but that incident haunted him for months, though he would never admit it outright. If he hadn't cured her from his bite, she would have been lost to him forever.
"So should we toast to a new beginning?" Caroline asked as she held up her blood bag.
"To new beginnings."
They touched blood bags and drank them in silence, both enjoying the view and company.
"So what were you painting?" Caroline asked after she finished her bag.
"It's a little something I had in mind. In fact, I was painting something similar that day you sent me the text message. This will be on a grander scale, which I figure I should finish by morning."
"I can leave so you can finish," she replied, trying to hold back a yawn.
Klaus shook his head and took her empty blood bag before walking back down the stairs. "Nonsense, you can stay if you'd like."
Caroline followed him back down and smiled. "Thank you." She walked over to her sleeping bag and took it to the wall of windows, finding a dark spot away from him.
"Sweetheart, there's a bed… it was Kol's but you can use it," he said.
Caroline noticed it was his turn to look uncomfortable as he ran his hand through his hair. "What's wrong with it? Is it smelly or full of dirty clothes?"
Klaus shook his head and motioned towards the hallway. She shook her head and decided to check it herself.
"Oh my god!" she yelled. "He had a round bed? Did he think he was Austin Powers or something?"
"He must have gotten the idea from it." Klaus chuckled as he remembered having caught Kol watching that inane movie. Apparently Kol must have loved it so much he wanted to emulate the character. Klaus continued watching Caroline from the doorway as she started laughing until she was bent over trying to catch her breath. He enjoyed the view but also enjoyed hearing her laughter. "You're welcome to it, sweetheart," he said with a smirk.
"Are the sheets clean?" she asked as she delicately plucked the covers off. "I'll just sleep on top of it with my sleeping bag and pillow."
Klaus nodded and turned around, ready to continue his painting as she followed him back to the main room and grabbed her things.
"Hey Klaus?" Caroline called out and waited until he turned around. "Would you really have walked away and left me alone like you said that day?"
"I would have," he replied softly, as he gazed at her. "It would have taken all my power to walk away forever, but if that was what you wished, I would have acquiesced. It was even more difficult after… when we parted. I assure you, I would have respected your wishes."
Caroline chewed her bottom lip and dropped her eyes from Klaus' intense look. "But… but you said at my graduation that you intended to be my last."
Klaus was shocked that the young blonde vampire seemed to have taken his words to heart and how upset she looked. These were emotions he wasn't quite familiar with in his long life. While he knew his feelings, her's had always been a mystery—until now. He wanted to rejoice in her words but at the same time, felt it was wise to reassure her given by the hurt and confused expression on her face. "And I would have. What you said out there—your human dreams that you wanted to achieve, I would have walked away to allow you that time. Remember the last part of my wish from that night—however long it takes."
"There are moments when I want to be with you but then I…" Caroline blurted out, a shimmer of tears in her eyes. "I get scared. I think about how you're a thousand years old and I'm just a fraction of that. What if I'm not enough for you? I mean, you probably had a bazillion women before. Can I even satisfy you?" She began pacing around again, wringing her hands while periodically wiping her tears angrily. "But you know what? As much as I think about that, I think also about how you're so different with me and I like it. I liked kissing you and being with you that day but my fears… they are real and I get confused thinking about it all!"
Klaus stood there breathlessly as she bared her soul to him. "Caroline," he whispered as he set aside his pride and looked at her. "I have fears of my own when it comes to you. What if you can't accept the fact that I am one of the darkest and most feared creatures on earth. I've been around for so long, I don't think it would be possible to not be. I'm not saying I'll ever be the polar opposite of who I am today but you make me want to be better. You're so full of light and joy… what if I take that away from you? Mikael always hinted I was nothing but poison and what if it's true?" He took a step closer to her when she stopped moving and rested his hand on her shoulder. "As for my feelings, they won't change. Caroline, I may not have had a bazillion women, as you said, but I didn't live a celibate life either. Even before our rendezvous in the woods, I wanted you and I still do. You're not merely a quick tumble, you're more than that. How much more depends on you."
Caroline stood there, stunned by his confession. She thought of it often since their moment in the woods and even this morning, Bonnie expressed the very concerns she had. She wanted to say something; anything to reassure him but all she could do was stand there staring at him.
He took one more step so they were nearly touching. He brushed the hair out of her eyes slowly as though any quick movement would spook her, noting her face was scrubbed of any traces of makeup. He believed she was never more beautiful. "I won't rush you, Caroline," Klaus whispered, placing a soft kiss on her temple. "I don't want to be out of your life either."
"I don't want you out of my life either," she said and mentally chided herself for parroting his words. It wasn't everything she wanted to say, but for now, it seemed to be enough. She reached up and curled her hand around the back of his neck. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed along his jaw. She was about to kiss him on his lips when she let out another yawn.
Klaus chuckled as her face turned bright red once again. "Go to sleep, sweetheart. In the morning you'll be able to see the completed painting."
It was just before dawn when Klaus put the finishing touches on his mural. He took a step back as he looked at his work before grabbing a rag and wiping the excess paint off his hands. He walked back to the bedroom area and peeked through the door at Caroline sleeping on top of the round bed. He turned back and pulled out some clean clothes before jumping in the shower.
He tried not to focus on the sleeping blonde just a few feet from where he was. If he did, he knew he would lose what little control he had and ravage her. He doubt she would have put up much of a fuss, until the others arrived. The idea of being caught, quickly brought him out of his fantasy. As he washed the pastel paint splatters off his skin, he wondered what today's meeting would bring. Would they be able to find answers? While he tried to remain optimistic, he knew better than to live on false hope. For the witch's sake, there better be some sort of sign.
The stirring coming from the bedroom was a signal that Caroline was close to waking up. He longed for the day she would fall asleep in his arms and wake up next him. Given their conversation hours ago, he believed it could very well happen one day.
He quickly got dressed and left the room before Caroline woke up. There was a text message on his phone from his sister indicating that they'd arrive in a couple hours and she ordered some food to be delivered to the factory. He went into the second bedroom and began taking an inventory of the furniture, pulling anything that looked useful and didn't require assembling.
It didn't take him long before he had a small sitting area set up on one corner of the main room. It was just a couple chairs and an area rug, but it made the room less empty. Klaus also found some outdoor furniture crammed into the room and was setting up an area on the rooftop when he heard Caroline get out of bed.
She freshened up in the bathroom and wished she had bath products when she spotted the large, soaking tub. Once she was dressed and looked presentable, she repacked her things and came out to the main room. She watched as Klaus carried a chair up the rooftop stairs. She followed him out of curiosity and was amazed at the little oasis he set up.
"This is a great idea to have a sitting area up here," she said with a smile as she sat on one of the teak chairs. "It's comfy too."
"Good morning, Caroline," Klaus said with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"
"That bed, as crazy as it looked, was very nice. Did you finish your painting?"
"You didn't see it when you came out?"
"No." She laughed and shook her head. "I spotted the sunrise and you running with furniture so I didn't pay attention."
Klaus held out his arm and smirked. "Well, shall we?"
They walked down the stairs and back into the main room. The morning sun was starting to brighten the room and Caroline could now see the mural painted onto the exposed brick wall, opposite the windowed wall. It was a forest but the way Klaus painted it, it was slightly abstract with ghostly trees painted in varying shades of white, set in different angles against a dark, cloudy background. There were random leaves scattered about in varying shades of green. Caroline spotted something that seemed to stand out on the forest floor and moved closer to the painting.
"Oh my god!" Caroline exclaimed as she got closer to the painting and pointed. "Is that my torn top with leaves on top of it?" She looked at another area and spotted something almost matched her underwear set that day. She looked at Klaus—eyes wide with shock.
"That vision has been in my head for a couple weeks and even though I did a canvas version, it didn't do it justice as this one did," he explained, suddenly uncomfortable as he waited for her to get angry and criticize his painting. "I made sure the articles of clothing were well hidden amongst the fallen leaves. I doubt most people would notice."
Armed with the knowledge he painted the mural based on their afternoon, Caroline was able to spot some of the hidden pieces of clothing—some of them were even his. "I like the sharp contrast of the trees and the background," she began as she walked around, viewing the mural at different angles. "I look at this and it means something," she said softly, rubbing her fingertips over that spot. "It's beautiful, meaningful, and at the same time, chaotic. I don't know if it makes sense..."
"Caroline." Klaus moved closer to her and put his hand over hers. "Does that spot bother you? I've noticed you touching that same area before."
Caroline wrinkled her brow and tried unsuccessfully to remove her hand from under his, blushing as though he caught her doing something bad.
With his free hand, he hooked a finger under her chin and gently lifted so they looked at each other eye to eye. "Talk to me."
"I didn't realize I was touching that spot," she replied. "You bit me right here." She moved her hand so his fingertips grazed that part of her collarbone, near her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut and she probably would have started purring because it felt that good. She opened her eyes and brought her hands up she could brush up against the spot she had bitten him.
Klaus' lips parted and he fought to keep his wits about him. He could easily back her against the wall and take her right there. Unlike a few nights ago when that human ran her hands over her spot, this felt so right.
He moved his hand up and cradled her head as he slammed his lips into hers. Her arms wrapped around him like a vise. It was a quick and heated kiss as their tongues caressed each others and her fingers threaded through his hair.
"We need to stop," he panted, a minute later and rested his forehead against hers. "They'll be here soon and we can't get carried away."
"Right," she said as she caught her breath and tried to straighten her appearance. "Is it common to feel that way? You know… sharing blood?"
Klaus shrugged. "To be honest, you were the first that I ever shared blood in that manner. I was the one that usually did the biting but it was never reciprocated and usually meant a meal."
Caroline frowned at his explanation, suddenly jealous of all the nameless women he was ever with. But his words dawned on her that she was the only one who shared blood while they were in their throes of passion. Hmm, I wonder if I should ask Elena about blood sharing when I get a chance? Didn't she say she did that with Damon? As curious as she was, the young vampire just wasn't ready to talk to Elena about something she shared with Damon. It was then she decided they both needed to change the subject fast, otherwise, they'd probably end up getting caught in a very compromising position. She took a step back and looked back up at Klaus, giving him a playful smile. "I can help you with furniture stuff if you'd like.
Together, with the items they found in the second bedroom, Klaus and Caroline worked on bringing a little more life to the main room of the factory house—as Caroline began calling it. The room still looked vast but there were now some more area rugs on the floors as well as some lounge chairs facing the skyline. As the bedroom was cleared of most large pieces, they discovered a door that lead to a room full of industrial equipment and machine parts. They brought out another metal table and cleaned off some chairs giving them an even larger workspace for today's upcoming meeting.
"It still looks like a huge room but it isn't as bad as before. I bet you could still land a small plane in here," Caroline remarked an hour later. "If you come back here next time, you should bring back some paintings, especially if they're large pieces. I think it'll brighten things up."
Klaus chuckled at her words causing her to look at him with a frown. "Sweetheart, have you forgotten that a lot of my paintings are full of darkness?"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Point taken, wrong choice of words. You know what I mean though, right? It will make it look more lived in."
"Well, isn't this a picture of domestic bliss," Rebekah called out from the doorway. She looked at her brother and Caroline as though she just caught them in a scandalous position. She pushed herself out of the doorway and walked into the room, looking around and nodding in satisfaction. "It looks nice. I like the forest mural, Nik. It's a good contrast to have it facing the Atlanta skyline. You're here rather early," Rebekah quipped as she walked over towards Caroline. "Couldn't sleep? Or did you sleep at all?"
Caroline kept silent and stared at the concrete floor. She was willing herself not to say a word. She wasn't confident that she could pretend nothing happened—not that anything happened other than some words and a quick but heated kiss. And what a kiss it was. Still, she felt if she were to open her mouth now, Rebekah would know that she had feelings for her brother.
"Rebekah," Klaus warned as he took a step closer to his sister.
"Oh relax!" She rolled her eyes and smiled at the two of them. "I don't want to know what's going on between you two and don't bother denying that there isn't. I can tell something's different. Aria and Bonnie are on their way, the caterers will be here any moment with breakfast and some snacks."
Klaus muttered something about putting away his painting supplies leaving Rebekah and Caroline alone.
"I'll go freshen up." Caroline turned and was about to walk away when Rebekah reached out and took a hold of her arm. It wasn't a strong grip meant to intimidate, and Caroline easily could have broken out of the hold but she halted, curious at what Rebekah was up to.
"Wait, I just want to say something." Rebekah let go of the blonde's arm and gave Caroline a stern look before she continued. "I don't know if you're playing a game or not with Nik but if you are, you better stop." As much as she often bickered with her brother, she didn't want to see him hurt, knowing all of them, Elijah included, would feel the brunt of his anger if he was played a fool. "I don't know what he sees in you, but I can tell he treats you differently. If you value your life and your friends', you'll heed my warning."
"There's no trick," Caroline replied, looking straight into Rebekah's eyes. As much as she would have liked to rail at her for threatening her, Caroline recognized Rebekah was standing up for her brother. "Things are different but how… it's too soon to say." She twisted her body so Rebekah's hold on her arm was disengaged. "If we're all going to work together, I suppose we need to call a truce between us."
Rebekah nodded curtly and turned towards the door as she heard a van pull up. "Fine, but I'm still keeping my eye on you."
Klaus couldn't help but overhear their conversation as he made sure his brushes were dry before putting them back in their container. He merely left the room to avoid his sister's interrogation but neglected to consider the fact that she would harass Caroline. He was ready to return to the main room and berate his sister for threatening the young blonde. It wasn't necessary as he heard her sticking up for herself and even putting aside any personal issues so they could all work towards a common goal.
When he finally walked out to the main room, the hotel caterers were busy setting everything up for their upcoming meeting. They worked quickly and quietly setting a food and beverage area. In less than a half hour, they were done and Klaus gave them a generous tip for their services.
It wasn't long after they left that Bonnie and Aria arrived.
NOTES: While I'm not ready for them to jump into bed or another forest, I did want to show that they do desire each other.
Let me know your thoughts, I love hearing from you all.
Thank you! XO ~ sushi
