Hey guys,

I'm not even going to try to excuse myself out of abandoning this story. I really am sorry for doing that. I know that the very special people that had given this story a chance was disappointed that I never got to finishing this story. If you would like to read the story and skip this part I understand, but if you choose to read my listening I'm forever grateful.

Okay so the thing is, five-six years ago when I started writing this story I was around twelve or thirteen years old, desperately obsessed with Vampire Diaries and the whole Klaroline fandom. I devoured every bit of news about Klaroline, read every bit of Klaroline fanfictions and always watch every TVD episode just to get a little bit of Klaroline moments. Around that time (year), the fandom was a bit of a shit show since The Originals was newly released and inevitably breaking up our OTP. I held on to a lot anger because of that decision and was no longer inspired to write. I tried and forced myself and ended up not being able to do it again.

So TVD had ended although I never got around to watching the show anymore–season 4 was the last season I watched–and also I didn't feel like watching TO. I was angry at the writers for making Klaroline not happen so I didn't watch the show and basically given up hope. Over the years, I still keep up with the Klaroline news (I even put in a google alert for the word "Klaroline" until now), I was not as obsessed as I used to and I read a couple of my favorite fanfictions a bunch of times when I'm feeling nostalgic.

So I saw that Caroline would be included in the Originals' last season so I was beyond excited and felt hope again. That wasn't the reason why I started writing this fanfic again. For some time, I had given up writing too but I realize you simply cannot run away from your passion. I owe it to myself, you guys and the Klaroline fandom to finish this. I'm once again inspired to continue this Bsince I re-read the story.

I re-write some chapters so please if you are interested in continue reading this, please re-read the previous chapters.

Okay, that's all I'm gonna say for now.

Enjoy :)

Blue Butterfly

A Klaroline Fanfiction

Chapter 12:

What Lies Between

By the time they arrived back to the hotel, the sun had set. The traffic was horrendous since it was the weekend, full of people trying to get to the hottest nightclub and the biggest casinos. They no longer had the limos since Kol only rented it for a week so the Mikaelsons had arranged to get them four rental cars as a mean of transportation. Caroline, Bonnie and Elena had one; a black Honda sedan that was small enough to get through traffic fairly quickly. The three others belonged to Kol's parents, Elijah and Klaus. Caroline didn't particularly enjoy maneuvering through the packed road but Katherine hadn't slept for days and Caroline didn't relish the thought of two of them ended up in the hospital.

Since Katherine had checked out of her earlier room, Caroline let her stay in the guest bedroom of her suite. They all had checked out their rooms and packed their bags–courtesy of Caroline and a reluctant Klaus–and only left out two suites for them to stay. One for her friends and the other one for the Mikaelsons. They weren't staying in the resort anyway, most of them choosing to confine themselves in the hospital rooms. It wasn't right to waste money on rooms they no longer need although God knows Kol had the money to pay for it. The suites had four separate bedrooms anyway, she didn't understand why they were given separate suites in the first place.

Caroline was fairly pleased with herself for making finally succeeding in convincing Kat to get some rest before they get some drinks for themselves. That had been three hours ago and Kat wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. Her friend had not been sleeping since the day she got here. From what she had observed, Kat had gotten only a couple of hours everyday and was on a rotation with Elena. Maybe it was an unconscious decision but whenever Caroline checked, it seemed that either one of them or the both of them were always awake to make sure Stefan was alright. It was not that Caroline wasn't worried, Stefan was her best friend and the other people in the hospital–with the exception of Henrik –had gotten close to her. She was sad to see them in this condition and would hope for nothing more than their speedy recovery, even for obnoxious Damon. But Caroline also knew she needed to take care of their health, they didn't need anyone else getting sick. So as a way to relax herself after a particularly marvelous bath, she grabbed the TV remote in the living room and was mindlessly changing the TV station.

She finally settled on a true crime show as she opened up the email app on her phone. She had informed her partner Lexi that she was not going to be able to leave Vegas for the foreseeable future and was very thankful Lexi had understood. She promised to oversee any of their current project and was glad to take Caroline's load for the time being. That didn't make Caroline feel better because some of the upcoming events' client had solely consult on her so she tried to communicate with Lexi about the clients' preferences as often as she could. She was finishing a rather long suggestion to Lexi for a New York wedding next month that was mostly finished, only needing Lexi's attention on some miniscule details when a knock sounded at the door.

Caroline got up, turning down the volume of the TV and charged her phone back at coffee table. She had no plans of going anywhere for the rest of the night since it was almost eleven anyway. She peeked in the peephole and saw Klaus's blue eyes staring back at her. She opened the door quickly, feeling a little nervous with her hair in a off-center bun and ice cream PJs.

Klaus looked absolutely disheveled with his wrinkled shirt and messy hair but he still looked better than most of the guys she knew. "Hey Klaus," she said sheepishly.

"Hey," he said quietly, looking right into her eyes.

"You do not look good."

Klaus's serious expression was replaced by a small grin as he took in her appearance. "Well you look absolutely ravishing."

She looked around the hallway before she gave him space to come in. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure thing, love. It was getting awkward talking outside your room."

They walked through the entrance, a beautiful classically arched foyer with the flower arrangement centerpiece. They passed the mini hallway that had two bedrooms opposite each other, one where Kat was currently sleeping in and the other was the place she had placed all of Elena's belongings in. They got to the grand living room and Klaus plopped himself on the inviting sofa.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked, taking a seat at the sofa she had sat at earlier.

He looked at her with a serious expression again. "Do you not want me to be here?"

She sighed. "Shouldn't you be with your fiancée?"

Klaus sighed and looked away. "She's currently drinking herself into stupor and trying to get Elijah's attention."

"Elijah's attention?"

Klaus looked her straight in the eye before he grabbed something silver from the pocket of his pants. She took a closer look at it. It was a flask and Klaus was chugging on it rather quickly. She then realized Klaus had a glazed look in his eyes and she somehow knew he was on the verge of getting himself drunk.

"Isn't that what you're trying to do too?" she said motioning to him.

"I'm not looking for Elijah's attention." He scoffed.

She rolled her eyes. "I mean the getting drunk part."

He shrugged. "It's a free country, Caroline."

"Well if you're gonna be an asshole and trying to get yourself drunk, maybe you should do it somewhere else," Caroline said, standing up suddenly.

He looked hurt. "I'm sorry, will you forgive me?"

She almost wanted to laugh seeing his expression. "Did something happen with Tatia?"

"Everything bad always happen around her."

Now Caroline was curious. "Then why be with her?"

"I have to."

"Why?" she asked again.

He seemed to contemplate what he wanted to say to her for a minute before taking another sip of whatever alcoholic beverage he had stored in his flask. "The Petrovas are a powerful family Caroline."

"So?"

"So, imagine what would happen if we get married, the Petrovas and the Mikaelsons. Tatia's an only child you know. Her parents would give me the company soon enough after I marry her."

"You're marrying her for some company?" she asked incredulously.

He chuckled dryly. "It was Mother's idea. She saw how infatuated Elijah and I were with her and she thought it was a bloody fantastic idea." He didn't look at her again. Instead his eyes were focused on something to her right but Caroline knew Klaus didn't see anything. He was seeing something from his past, something that Caroline couldn't see. "Turns out infatuation didn't last long. She played both of us behind our backs. How bloody amazing to get two brothers to fight for her while she has her fun with both of them under the sheets. In the end I did it out of spite. I wanted to destroy her from inside out, I wanted to destroy her parents' legacy."

She swallowed nervously. Whatever Klaus was saying was dark and not something Caroline condone herself but she couldn't help but feel drawn to his every word. He was passionate about it. "So why didn't you marry her? If you only stay engaged to her, you'll never get the company."

He still seemed dazed as he dragged his attention back to her. "I never found the will power to marry that wretched girl."

"So you've been trying to find the will to marry her?" she asked. "How long have you been engaged to her?"

"Close to three years although it feels like it's been forever," he groaned. "She never suspected it though, too blinded by her pride."

"Do your parents know about your plans?"

He shook his head. "God no, my mother would be royally pissed if she knew about this."

"Why do you keep torturing yourself?" she offered him a sympathetic smile.

Unfortunately, he mistaken it for pity. "I don't need you to pity me Caroline," he said harshly. "The cheating wench deserves to be punished after what she did to me and Elijah. She almost broke us apart."

"You don't deserve to live in a lie either, Klaus."

He looked at her with a frown. "I tried to back off. I don't know why but I felt like I was never going to ever put myself in a marriage with her. I don't think I would ever marry for love, I'm not that naïve. But I do believe in the sanctuary that is marriage. If I ever had to get marry, I would hope to be stuck with I can at least be friends with."

"So why didn't you?"

He chuckled darkly. "She knew too much. She threatened to out Rebekah's addiction and a whole lot other family drama that would break my family apart."

"So you stay for them?"

He looked so forlorn and lost, her heart goes out to him. "I stay because I created the mess in the first place."

Now that she knew the depth of Klaus's relationship with Tatia she felt herself let go of the guilt of sleeping with him. Even with Klaus's cryptic message, she had felt bad for having cheat on his fiancé. She had come up with a lot of scenarios that would explain his excuse but none of them came close to this. Even though she didn't condone cheating, she knew in their case they couldn't see everything in black and white. Their entire relationship was a farce. "Don't you think they would understand if you try to explain everything to them."

"They shouldn't have to understand, Caroline. Don't you see, this is my problem."

"Is that what family means to you? That you have to protect them from the big bad world all the time?" she asked quietly, not really sure where she was going with this but knew he needed to hear her words all the while. "They're adults, Klaus. One way or another, you can't keep this away from them forever."

Klaus's eyes raised to her and there was a fiery depth in them. "Are you going to tell them?"

She shook her head. She wished she could, because no one deserved to be in the kind of place he was in and no one should punish themselves like what he was doing to himself. But she knew it wasn't her story to tell. "No."

"Well then I don't see a way how they would ever find out."

"So what, you're gonna wait around until you find the guts to destroy her life? Don't you see that in the end it's going to destroy you too?"

The anger in his eyes was still there and he stalked to her from his seat. "Why do you care so much?"

She threw up her hands in the air. "I don't know."

He looked at her. He was sitting beside her now and she could the tension radiating of him "I won't put them through this Caroline. I can't."

"You're destroying yourself and in the end it's gonna destroy them too, to see their brother suffer."

He put his face in his hands, his shoulder sagging. "I made a vow to myself years ago Caroline. I won't let her get away with everything that she has done.

"Find another way to punish her then."

"You don't understand the kind of pain that her betrayal caused us Caroline," he said hoarsely. He looked up at her and he was frowning. "You and your perfect little life won't understand. It broke my mother's heart to see us constantly at each other's throat. Elijah and I couldn't stand each other after we first found out we were chasing after the same girl. If I wasn't too occupied trying to fight over a girl with my brother, I would have realized Rebekah's addiction sooner."

She knew he was hurting and she was trying to find away to get him to understand what she was trying to say. The minute he destroyed Tatia, he would destroy himself. If he married Tatia, he would have lost all his principle in the name of vengeance. "You're wrong."

"What?" he said, studying her face.

But Caroline looked away. What she was going to tell him was not easy. She rarely opened up to anyone about her childhood. "My dad left my mom and I when I was in seventh grade. He finally–I don't know snapped I guess," she said quietly. "I think he always knew he was different. I think he always knew that he would not be happy with my mom. But it took him years to realize his mistake. He met Stephen–his partner now–years ago but he never acted on his attraction. One day he just didn't come home. He didn't even have the balls to tell us himself, he sent my mom an email telling her he couldn't live in a lie anymore and he was finally going to chase his dream with his new boyfriend. I don't know the kind of pain that comes from an infidelity but I do understand the feeling of betrayal."

Klaus was quiet, he knew Caroline was not finished.

"You know I never judged him. I didn't feel the least bit betrayed or hurt that he was finally with someone he loved. I just don't understand why he had to exclude me out of his life. He adopted a daughter you know, with his partner. A darling twelve-year-old they renamed Cynthia. I think it's Greek or something," she said with a bitter laugh. "He can have another daughter, so it's not as if he didn't want a child. He just didn't want… me."

Caroline had never said the word allowed even after all this year. She didn't even know she had resented her father that much. Yes, she had occasionally joked around sarcastically with Bonnie or Stefan whenever her mom got whiff of how her father was doing. He was constantly posting pictures of his new family on Facebook while he barely called her on her birthday. What a terrific father.

"I'm sorry I didn't know," he said finally, filling in the deafening silence.

She shrugged. "You didn't know."

"Klaus?" she called out.

He looked at her. They were next to each other and Caroline had barely noticed. She noticed now and her heart was beating a mile away.

"Take it from me, it gets easier with time. Let it go."

He didn't say anything but she could see that he had heard her. He didn't nod or give out any indication that he agreed but she took what she could. The tension had changed in the room; somewhere between their confession and their messy emotions, she no longer feel the need to say anything. She had said as much as she could, it was ultimately his decision. She would try talking to him again next time, she didn't know why he had told her in the first place. But she was glad. She was oh so glad he trusted her. Their weird friendship had meant something to her now.

He was still looking at her intensely and she was starting to get nervous. What was he thinking?

"Oh bloody hell," he finally said before he crashed his lips into her. All previous thoughts suddenly left Caroline's mind as she felt his soft lips move against her own. She hadn't thought she wanted this to happen, hell she had been forcing herself to not think about him at all. Now it was like fireworks were going off in her head, a heady yet exhilarating feeling that completely blew her mind. She kissed him back with the same urgency. It was sweet and tender at first as his hand wound up in her head and his other one in her waist, drawing her even closer to him. The feeling was too good to be true she moaned a loud. That granted him access into her mouth and he took it without much persuasion.

Their tongues tangled together in an ancient rhythm, perfectly in sync with one another. She could feel his hand in her neck now and she did her own exploration. She tugged at his hair which was silky soft and her other hand explored the strings of leather necklaces he wore even under his suits. She straddled him, her legs wrapped around his waist as the kiss grew more frantic and demanding.

They drew in a breath but almost immediately she grabbed him back to her mouth. She couldn't get enough of him. They were like a couple of horny teenagers, finding immense pleasure in a kiss that felt so surreal Caroline wondered if she was dreaming. Klaus finally pulled away first after a while and he drew their forehead close until it was almost touching. He opened his eyes then and for the first time she realized how thick his eyelashes were, it was almost pretty. She laughed at herself, nothing about Niklaus Mikaelson was pretty. He offered her a smile and she smiled back.

"Are you drunk?" she heard her voice say.

He pulled away far enough to be able to look into her eyes. "Are you?"

She shook her head. "No."

He cocked his head to the side. "Then why ask?"

She looked away and he could tell she felt insecure. He didn't know what caused her reaction but he would love to find out why. "I didn't kiss you because I'm intoxicated Caroline. I've been wanting to do that in quite a while."

She looked up and she smiled at him. She didn't know whether to believe him or not but she found herself not caring at that moment. "You kissed me before."

"And now I get to remember the feeling of kissing you."

She blushed a deep red. "Um…"

"Don't over think it please." He could see the wheels turning in her head.

He grabbed both side of her head, forced her to look at him. "I don't know why I told you all of that before but I knew I owe you an explanation."

"Thank you for telling me."

He got up then, looked at his watch and was surprised to see that it was almost two in the morning. Time seemed to fly by whenever he was spending time with Caroline. "I have to go, love. It's late."

She followed him out and said her goodbyes. He didn't touch her again and she was almost glad. She hadn't been thinking when he had kissed her.

She locked the door and sagged down until she was sitting on the floor. She put her head in her hands. She hadn't been thinking. No matter what Klaus said, no matter how much she understood Klaus and Tatia's situation, she didn't want to be the other woman; one night was enough. She wouldn't have him cheat on Tatia with her again. He needed to deal with the situation first if they were ever going to have a chance. The thing was, she didn't know if he ever would be ready to deal with it.

She was going to stay away from Klaus from now.

I'm so so so sorry if the kiss was a let down. I'm happy with it for now I think. Truth to be told, I've never ever written a kissing scene before so please let me know what you think. I take constructive criticism guys, please no hate.

If you're interested in knowing more about the story, please follow it and follow me for more updates on other stories. When I finish this story, or maybe while I'm writing this, I'm also going to rewrite and continue The Fiery Heart. Please stay tune for that.

Xoxo, Ems.