Prompt: you're my friend's boyfriend/girlfriend and I hate you so much (but also secretly like you).
Woah this seriously just wrote itself (given the time it took). Thanks for the amazing idea, nonnie. So this is a prompt that was sent to the amazing Ravyn - cupcakemolotov - and I sort of adopted it. Wherever you are nonnie, I hope you get to read this and like my take (which will be a little different to suit what I'm comfortable with writing). Based on an awesome Crowded House song of the same name, hope you like it!
Mean to Me
"She came all the way from America, she had a blind date with destiny..."
Oxford University, UK (2017- Present Day)
"You never told me how gorgeous the guys at Oxford were, Care," Katherine drooled while standing beside Caroline, her eyes darting around the room excitedly at the fresh meat. "If I'd known, I definitely would have studied here rather than Georgetown."
"Why thank you Katherine," Enzo grinned. "I never knew you could be so complimentary when it came to yours truly."
"I was talking about all the other Oxford men besides you, Lorenzo," she drawled. Katherine and Enzo had met five years earlier through Caroline and had pretty much been bickering ever since. She liked to think it was their way of showing they cared about each other.
"Well, cute if you like that preppy kind of guy," Bonnie commented from her other side. "No offence Enzo but give me a guy in a ripped pair of jeans and band shirt any day over all these penguin suits."
"Well, we are at the Oxford University 850th Anniversary Alumni Ball, Bonnie," Caroline offered, thinking what a mouthful that was as she said it. "I'm pretty certain anything less than white tie isn't going to score you entry here tonight. I'm not all that upset given I've always been a sucker for a guy in a suit with an accent."
Caroline felt a mixture of emotions being back at Oxford after seven years away. It had been her home for six years after all and she had so many great memories of the beautiful grounds, her professors and meeting her best friend Enzo at the same time. They'd both left shortly after graduation and Enzo had followed Caroline back to the States where they shared an apartment while getting established in their chosen careers of law and engineering.
It had been at her law firm in Boston that Caroline met Bonnie and through her Katherine. The two girls had grown up together in a small town in Virginia and had been inseparable ever since. She'd never had too many girlfriends in her life and these two were the best you could ask for.
"Why is it that whenever we're all together our conversations descend into checking out good looking men," Enzo complained. Having him as a best friend was great most of the time but his girl talking skills left a lot to be desired, even if he did try. "On the other hand, if you wanted to discuss what a fine looking specimen I am, then that's another story." No one responded there was just a chorus of groans and a few eye rolls to go with them.
Caroline scanned the room feeling a little self conscious as she did. While her time at Oxford had been wonderful for the most part there were a few people she was nervous about seeing. In fact she'd almost not come but Enzo had insisted, he even suggested bringing a couple of dates to make things less uncomfortable. Hence why Enzo was here with Katherine and she here with Bonnie. He had his own ghosts from the past so Caroline was pretty sure his suggestion wasn't completely selfless. Katherine had been mortified as you would imagine but she lost out on the coin toss and had to pretend to be his date for the evening.
"If it isn't little Caroline," a familiar voice cooed. This was what she'd been dreading. Caroline smoothed over her blonde waves and looked up into the brown, doe eyes of her former friend and resident mean girl Hayley Marshall. Little Caroline? Could she sound any more patronising? It didn't help that she was studying Caroline's red, strapless dress intently either.
"Hayley," she murmured by way of a greeting, thinking just how unfair it was that she looked so unusually elegant in her fitted, black dress with those usually untamed, dark tresses pulled back into a stylish, low bun.
"And Enzo," she continued. "I always thought you two outcasts would end up together."
"Not that it's any of your business Your Bitchiness, but Caroline and I are just friends," he growled. "Katherine is my date tonight." Sensing the obvious tension, Katherine placed her arm around him, albeit reluctantly, playing the part of his dutiful date.
"Oh, so you two are..." Hayley trailed off, looking between Bonnie and Caroline. "Lesbians."
"Excuse me," Bonnie scoffed.
"It's okay really, you know back in the day I thought Caroline had a thing for me given all that jealousy about Klaus, so it all makes perfect sense that you are, uh, that way inclined."
"Do you have a problem with lesbians, Hayley?" Caroline demanded, placing her arm around Bonnie protectively. This bitch had no right to make judgments on people's sexuality even if hers wasn't actually real. She faltered slightly, obviously taken aback by Caroline's comments. Enzo and Katherine were trying not to laugh outwardly and Bonnie was still standing there in shock as events were unfolding.
"It's time for the speeches," the Chancellor announced over the speaker system, interrupting their conversation and for once in her life Caroline was glad as Hayley scurried away, no doubt to spread rumours of her current relationship status.
"Given I've just become your lesbian lover, you owe me an explanation, Forbes," Bonnie mumbled.
"Me too," Katherine hissed. "And who the hell is this Klaus guy?"
"That might take a while to explain," Enzo offered, knowingly. As the speeches began, Caroline's mind drifted back.
Oxford University, UK (2011)
It was her second year at Oxford and Caroline was already exhausted. Not only because of her law studies but all the extra curricular activities she'd tried to cram in at the same time. She'd always been an overachiever at school and the pressure of attending such a prestigious University only made her more desperate to impress.
She was running late for constitutional law and knowing her strict Professor he wouldn't take her tardiness that well. She raced across the lawn not noticing her surroundings and colliding with a hard body as she did, her satchel falling onto the grass and a stack of papers spilling out from within. She didn't even address the stranger just knelt down and pushed her papers back inside hurriedly.
"Usually when someone runs into you they apologise," he uttered, sitting up on the lawn. Caroline finally lifted her eyes not expecting such a gorgeous guy to be looking intensely at eye level She'd never seen such crimson lips before and a set of such disarming dimples either.
"How do I know it wasn't your fault?" She replied tartly, Caroline was never one to admit fault on a whim, it was the budding lawyer in her after all.
"Because it wasn't," he argued. "I'm pretty sure the myriad of witnesses could attest to that fact."
"Even so," she muttered. "Are you actually injured in any way or is it just that precious ego of yours?" She looked around, noticing they had a particularly riveted female audience, sending shocked glances her way. He regarded her curiously, finally standing. His grey henley was fitted tightly across his chest over his dark jeans, a few necklaces peeking out from underneath.
"Oh, don't you worry, I'll send you a bill," he retorted. "Miss?"
"If that's some pathetic way to get my details then I suggest you work on your approach, buddy." Before he could reply she was gone, he may of been gorgeous but getting to class was more important than smug ass.
Unfortunately it didn't take long to cross paths with him again. Turns out he was a law student two years her senior and just as arrogant as Caroline had predicted. The University held an annual inter university law competition, pitting the most promising students at each year level against each other in a mock trial situation.
Being by far the best student, Caroline was excited to learn she'd be representing the second years. If there was something she revelled in it was competition. The challenge was held in a number of rounds and Caroline annihilated her opponents every time. It was only when she got to the finals that Caroline realised her competition was him, the cocky guy from the lawn that day.
As they approached the bench in the makeshift court, she couldn't miss those crimson lips curved into a mocking smile. It was like he'd already claimed victory but Caroline wasn't a pushover and this idiot was about to learn that fact.
"Objection Your Honour. Opposing Counsel is badgering the witness," Caroline argued, standing up yet again. This guy wasn't going to get away with anything and a number of objections had already been made.
"Sustained."
"Your Honour," he shot back. "Last time I checked asking the witness if she felt responsibility for what transpired isn't badgering."
"Maybe you need to consult a dictionary then, Einstein?" Caroline growled nearby. If she was being honest, Caroline was enjoying their sparring. The fact he was just so good looking didn't hurt either.
"Approach the Bench Counsels," The mock judge, also known as his lecturer, insisted. They looked at each other in exasperation before they made their way forward. "I stand by my ruling, but might I suggest you stick to the script Ms Forbes without the snide remarks?" Caroline nodded solemnly before making her way back to the desk. She was annoyed at herself for speaking out of turn but decided to blame it on her smug opponent.
She'd ended up winning, that result not sitting well with a certain Mikaelson. As Caroline had learned afterwards, his family were Oxford royalty. Their father had donated most of the funds for the new buildings and Klaus wasn't the only sibling studying there. His elder brother Elijah and younger sibling Kol were studying medicine and commerce respectively.
Their barbs hadn't ceased though, the brief moments they came into contact not wasted on pleasantries. Just because Klaus Mikaelson considered himself some entitled prince didn't mean she had to be nice, even if he was gorgeous or the fact his little sister had just enrolled at Oxford and taken a liking to her best friend.
Once she entered third year, Caroline hoped she wouldn't have to deal with him too much but that's where she was wrong. Caroline had always been the type to focus on her studies rather than friendships and social activities. She was there for one reason only and it wasn't to make some friends she'd probably never see afterwards, especially given her plans to return to the States. Enzo was obviously an exception but meeting Hayley Marshall had been a surprise. The fact she was American too had drawn Caroline towards her and the group of clueless girls that followed her around like lost sheep.
She'd been impressed at first by the overtly confident brunette that had most guys drooling on campus given her confidence and flair. If she had more time in the day Caroline figured she could be just as alluring. It wasn't until she sat down for lunch in the expansive grounds on Tuesday that Caroline noticed him. Not only did she notice those dark, blonde curls she also saw Hayley's arm snaked around his waist familiarly. Caroline wasn't sure how she'd missed this development but given their history she didn't feel all together comfortable in their presence.
She'd tried to avoid them figuring it was best but they always had a way of shattering Caroline's reverie. Just when she didn't think it could get worse, Klaus had been assigned to supervise her case study. She figured God was trying to punish her for something she probably did in a past life. Caroline would have preferred a bolt of lightning but apparently God had other plans to make her suffer.
"This argument won't stand up in court," he shared, looking at her neatly prepared noted. "It's basically circumstantial."
"If you look at page 3 and 5 of my arguments, you'll find it's not like that at all," Caroline baulked. She hated being told she was wrong without proper cause but from Klaus it made her blood pressure spike.
"When you are trying to make an argument a few paragraphs isn't gong to be enough to convince the judge of your client's innocence," he shot back. "Judges aren't interested in page 3 or 5, they want this front and centre on page 1. Otherwise you're arguments are just going to be lost." Caroline opened her mouth, tempted to bite back as usual but he did actually have a point. She decided to put that down to his further experience.
"So, how can I improve this then?" Caroline asked dubiously. Just because she thought he was an arrogant ass didn't mean she couldn't learn something from his tutelage.
"How about we get a coffee and discuss this further?" He'd asked, cocking his left eyebrow as he said it. Caroline had nodded numbly, trying to ignore the foreign sensations his request had created. One coffee had turned into four when Hayley had arrived in the cafeteria wailing about him breaking their date. Klaus had offered some kind of apology but it wasn't very genuine. When she'd stomped away post tantrum, he'd sent her an apologetic glance with a sly dimple before he followed his girlfriend unenthusiastically.
As hard as Caroline had tried to block him from her mind she'd struggled. Yes, he was seeing her friend and she had no intention of acting on those feelings but it was difficult to ignore the sensations he caused when they were close. Those lingering stares he sent in her direction weren't helping either. She'd found herself sketching pictures in her notebook, her art teacher in high school had told her she was talented but Caroline knew art wasn't going to pay her bills.
Finding her personal sketches of Klaus photocopied on the university pin board for all to see had killed her. As one of the few Americans on campus, Caroline had tried to fit in but it looked like she was now the laughing stock. She deduced that an obviously cruel and insecure Hayley had easily gained access to her notebooks and posted them publicly with her name underneath.
Enzo had promised to kill Hayley but Caroline chose to take a step back and focus on her studies, it was why she was here after all. Klaus had attempted to contact her multiple times but Caroline was far too embarrassed to respond. Even if she'd heard of their break-up not long after the fact. Enzo had even tried to get her to see him before Klaus left Oxford later that year but Caroline refused stubbornly. She had no intention of being subject to anyone's pity, she had her pride after all.
Oxford University (Present Day - 2017)
"So?" Bonnie demanded once the speeches were over, Katherine nodding enthusiastically in the background. "Who is this Klaus guy, better yet where is he?" Caroline didn't need to respond, seeing him approach their group, flanked by some very familiar brunettes and a gorgeous blonde. Even after all these years the Mikaelsons were still so photogenic.
"Well, hello there, handsome," Katherine purred, her flirting skills on point as usual, focusing on his old brother Elijah. Caroline was pretty certain that if anyone could wear a suit it was the dashing surgeon.
"And here I thought you were here with Enzo at first." Klaus asked, his eyes focused on Caroline, causing a few foreign feelings to penetrate her protective shield. "But apparently you've changed teams, you know according to the gossip mill."
"Why is everyone so interested in my relationship status?" Caroline hissed in frustration.
"The dress code cramping your style too?" Bonnie asked, looking at Kol with his bow tie loosened and his shirt slightly untucked.
"You have no idea," he chuckled. "Care for a drink, darling?" Before Caroline could object they'd made their way towards the bar, Elijah and Katherine following closely behind. So much for having her friend's support.
"Did I mention just what an idiot you are, St John?" Rebekah scowled, hands on hips.
"Not recently. Did I mention what an uptight princess you are?" Enzo growled in response. Enzo didn't talk about her much these days and what they had all those years ago but it was obvious she'd made a lasting impression on him, much like her brother had on Caroline.
"Sounds like we have a lot of insults to catch up on," She smirked, leading him away. Great, now she had no excuses but to speak to Klaus.
"Care for a dance?" Klaus asked, holding out his hand. She wanted to decline but Caroline had spent way too much time rejecting his advances for all the wrong reasons. "You look beautiful tonight, love. Although I'm not surprised."
"I bet you say that to all the girls," Caroline shot back, trying to ignore just how good it felt having his chest rubbing against hers and his familiar aftershave infiltrating her nostrils. Caroline caught herself studying his face curiously, he was just as she remembered but Caroline had forgotten just how crimson his lips were.
"No," he replied simply, his hands tightening across her back. Caroline knew she owed him an apology given his attempts to contact her over the years but she had no idea what to say right now. Just because she was a lawyer didn't mean Caroline always knew the right words to say. "Tell me this doesn't feel right, Caroline."
It did feel right swaying in his arms, like she was home. It was something she'd fought for so long but Caroline could feel the last of her willpower wearing away as she melted into him. "I just want your confession."
"My confession?"
"I'm tired of waiting, Caroline. It would be nice to know that you feel even a tiny shred of what i've always felt for you." Before she could respond Klaus had pulled out that very sketch she'd drawn all those years ago from his jacket pocket. The fact he'd kept it all these years was testing every feeling she'd tried to quash. "I love you, have done since you ran into me that day."
"I love you too." Caroline didn't need much encouragement to close the distance between them and place a kiss on those crimson lips she'd been desperate to touch for so long. It might have taken a while but Caroline figured they had their whole lives to make things right.