Chapter 25.
"So you'll be here by tomorrow morning?" Klaus asked on his phone as he walked towards The Grill entrance.
"Yes, brother." Kol's voice answered in an annoyed voice. "Any word from Elijah?"
"Yes." Klaus replied. "The witch booked a flight to come to the States. Elijah is following her…she'll soon be in our hands."
"Finally." Kol told him. "We'll soon put this whole story behind us, as all the others before it."
"Can't wait." This witch had caused too much trouble…and he was really curious to know whose blood she had and how she got it.
"Malika and I will be there tomorrow…so see you then."
"Good."
"Say hi to-"
Klaus hung up on his brother with an exasperated sigh, then ordered a drink and sat down on a stool giving his back to the dance floor.
Someone laughed loudly and then he heard a voice behind him, one he had unfortunately come to recognize against his will.
"Come on, Damon…you can do better than that." Elena said.
Klaus turned slowly on his stool and his eyes saw Elena and Damon in the middle of the dance floor. Elena's body was moving to the music with Damon more interested in looking at her then to really join her. Klaus suddenly turned to check the people milling around. No familiar faces dancing or at the bar. He tilted his head to check the tables on his right…and there she was. Caroline. She was sitting on a table with Stefan and Bonnie. His eyes softened on her. Her eyes were looking from the witch to the vampire with an irritated look and he wondered what they could be saying.
Suddenly he left the stool and went to the deejay on the other side of the restaurant.
"Put on an eighties ballad." Klaus ordered him.
"But…" The young man cut his own words off as Klaus handed him a hundred dollar bill. "Right away." The DJ agreed with a bright smile as he took the bill and put it in his jeans front pocket.
Klaus walked slowly back to the bar. As he sat down an old eighties classic began.
"Oh come on!" He heard Elena complain before leaving the dance area with Damon in tow. She sat back at the table with her friends.
Klaus followed their steps a few seconds later.
"May I have the honour of this dance, Caroline?" Klaus asked the blond girl. Her eyes widened with surprise at seeing him. A blush appeared on her cheeks and her gaze lit up along with a soft smile. All the others at the table turned to look at him but he ignored them, his eyes only on her.
"No one talks like that anymore, pal." Damon told Klaus from his place.
"Well, they should." The hybrid answered. His eyes didn't waver from Caroline's face but he noticed that Bonnie was looking at her friend too, studying her expression with a worried look on her face. There was no mistaking that look. She was happy to see him. She really was! "In fact it wouldn't hurt you to have some little more manners."
"Don't need it. Not with this." The older Salvatore replied circling with his finger the space in front of his own face.
The three girls rolled their eyes almost simultaneously while his brother gave a little shake to his head.
Arrogant prick. "Didn't help you with-"
"Okay! A dance it is!" Caroline was suddenly out of her chair. The intent to stop Klaus' jab at Damon was obvious but Klaus didn't care. She had agreed to dance with him.
"You don't have to, Caroline." Elena snapped, frowning at her friend, making Klaus want to break her neck just for the tone she had used.
Caroline calmly looked down, meeting her friends' eyes. "I know."
That was enough for Klaus. He walked away from the table and waited for Caroline to join him.
"Care?" Bonnie called her friend with a hiss. "What are you doing?"
"Well, maybe finally I'll get that answer you all keep asking about." The blond vampire replied with a knowing look towards all of them.
She walked to Klaus side.
"Your doing?" She inquired pointing in the air, obviously asking about the song.
His only answer was a small smile. He held out his palm to her and after a hesitant second Caroline put her hand in it and moved in the circle of his arms.
"Why do you always try to antagonize people?" She asked him.
"Cause it's fun." He answered widening his smile up.
"Stay the night here and see,
Share your body with me,
And I'll show you two hearts on fire…"
Caroline sighed heavily as his arm went around her waist pulling her gently closer to him while he kept her hand imprisoned in his resting on his chest. Klaus splayed his hand on the lower part of her back, while she rested her arm around his shoulders. They swayed slowly to the music. Her eyes were fixed in the space somewhere between his ear and his shoulder like she wanted to avoid looking directly at him.
"So..." She said after a long silent moment. "Any news about the witch yet?"
The sides of Klaus lips tilted up again. He inhaled deeply, smelling the soft minty smell in her hair, tied up in a tight ponytail, and leaned his cheek until it almost touched her blond head. "We're getting close."
His answer made her finally look in his eyes. "Really?"
Klaus gave her a small nod.
"Elijah?" Caroline asked again
"Yes...Is this why you accepted to dance with me? To interrogate me?" He asked her with narrowed eyes. It didn't really matter. He would tell her only what he wanted but he was holding her close after a long time and that was worth anything.
"Would you mind very much if I did?"
She had realised from his tone that he was not angry about being questioned. He laughed under his breath. "You really...do know me, don't you?"
She stayed silent and simply lowered her eyes. Her body was attached to his and she didn't try to move away. And just like in her room, he felt like they were in their own little world.
"I miss you." Klaus found himself uttering the words without almost realising. But it was the truth and he had no reason to hide it from her.
"What?" She whispered breathlessly, her fingers fidgeting with the material of his shirt.
"The house...lacks your presence somehow," he told her as his eyes found hers and smiled at her, "you know, no radio alarms at 4.30 in the morning, or doors slammed and fights...no spiders."
Caroline returned his smile but dragged her gaze away from his. "Now that I'm not confined in it anymore, I guess...I can see some good in it too."
Now that was something he never thought she'd ever say. She let out a little laugh at the way he looked at her after her confession.
"Watching TV with you and your sister was...really something and...I think I miss your library, and even more your kitchen, there's no comparison when it comes to midnight snacks with my mom's." She explained with a rueful smile.
What about me? Do you miss me even just a little? His fingers tightened against hers and his head leaned once more to brush his cheek against her hair. Suddenly he felt her body go rigid in his arms and he knew the reason without having to check.
"Your gang can't stand the idea of us being...friends, can they?" He asked her.
"I thought you didn't want to be my friend?" She retorted giving him a side look.
"I guess..." He tilted his lips up. "I'll take what I can with you."
"Meaning?"
He let out a sigh and looked her directly in the eyes. "Meaning, that I don't really see us having long chats on the phone or meeting for coffees but..." He shrugged. I can wait for all the time you need, but we'll be so much more than friends in the end.
Caroline shook her head in annoyance. "I'll let you know people like me...I'm a good friend."
"I know." He laughed softly. "I like you too and believe me; I don't say that of many people."
Her head cocked to one side. "I'm pretty sure there are even less that say it of you."
Klaus laughed again. "What do I care if people don't like me? Being feared is so much better."
He felt her body let out a heavy sigh against him.
"Ok so...maybe...we wouldn't be the conventional friends...but wouldn't it be great...for everyone...if we got along better?" Her fingers tightened against his as she gave him an encouraging smile. "I think we got...the hang of it while I was living in your house...and you helped Elena...we could try..."
We could try…even she doesn't believe it. He thought as his brows met above his nose. His eyes noticed a blond strand that had escaped from the tightly clasped ponytail and raising his hand up her back, he took it between his fore and third finger.
She raised her eyes to him when she felt his touch.
"I prefer your hair when it's down." He told her as he removed his fingers from around her hair.
Her eyebrows went high on her forehead and he laughed. "Don't friends say things like that to each other?"
She pursed her lips making her face look sad.
He just laughed again under his breath and this time brought the same two fingers to give the softest caress to her skin from her elbow to her wrist. Her skin puckered at his touch and his fingers tingled almost as if the spell was still there between them.
"Stop it! What are you doing?" She hissed angrily even as he felt her shiver in his arms.
Showing you why we can't be just friends…
"I can't seem to help myself."
"Then this dance ends now." She said as she took a step away from him.
"Ok...I'll behave." He gave in, giving her a contrite gaze as he immediately missed her body next to his.
She gave a small sigh and went back into his arms. For the remaining of the song they were in silence, moving to its slow rhythm, their bodies touching from shoulder to knee, her fingers curled around his.
They were back into that world that belonged only to them. The problems with the wolves, the witch still not in his grasp…nothing was important when he was with her. The whole world could disappear and he wouldn't care. And she was right there in it with him. She had completely relaxed in his arms, talking and smiling with him, forgetting that her friends were watching closely by.
Klaus felt someone's gaze on him and raising his eyes to the door, saw Tyler right there. His dark eyes burning with anger as he took in how close Klaus and Caroline stood in each other's arms.
Time to start opening his eyes too.
Klaus brought his mouth next to her ear and asked. "But tell me what does Tyler have to say about our...friendship?"
She let out a little sigh, but didn't move an inch from him. "He trusts me. He knows he's got nothing to worry about cause it's him I want to be with."
Why couldn't she see! He thought as anger started to simmer in his stomach. His eyes grew hard as he returned Tyler's angry gaze.
"There you go again." She said, feeling him go tense and ignoring the reason why. "Closing yourself off whenever I say something you don't want to hear! That's not the way to be-"
He did look at her now with a deep frown. "I'm just trying to understand...if you're really that blind ...or too scared to admit what's right in front of you." He knew that he was breaking his own words that he would wait, but in moments like this, having her in his arms, feeling how perfectly they fit together, he wanted desperately for her to see right this moment…to not have to wait for what they would have.
She moved away from him with surprise in her eyes. "Don't start that again! I'm not blind! You're the one who doesn't see!"
"Oh, I see...and I'm not the only one..." With those words he turned them around so that she was facing the bar's door and her eyes made contact with Tyler's.
Her body went rigid and she turned a furious gaze towards Klaus. "How long was he there?"
"Enough to see what you won't."
Tyler was suddenly all in their space. "Take your hands off her!"
Caroline took two small steps away from Klaus, trying to put space between their bodies, but Klaus still didn't release her.
"You? Ordering me?" His sire growled at Tyler. "Have you got a death wish?"
"Let me go." Caroline said quietly and Klaus released his arm from around her waist and then slowly let her fingers untwine from around his.
Her boyfriend took her hand then and dragged her to his side. "You have no say on her anymore, actually you never did. When will you get it in your head? She doesn't want you! She hates what you are and all you did. You disgust her."
"Is that what you saw a moment ago...disgust? Are you sure?" Klaus asked softly. He had seen the way Tyler had watched as Caroline swayed in Klaus' arms. Nothing in that embrace looked forced or unwanted. Maybe it was time for Tyler to start asking the hard questions.
Doubt flared in Tyler's eyes before he could hide it. "Stay away from her." He hissed in Klaus' face.
The anger in his stomach was rising up like high flames. Klaus closed his hands in fists but still turned with a calm voice towards the vampire. "Caroline," he said, "I'm showing a lot of restraint for your sake..."
"He was telling me about the witch..." She told Tyler, completely ignoring Klaus.
Klaus' gaze turned hard. His hands fisted harder and his jaw clenched.
"They have a lead on her, I think Elijah is about to find her..."
"Where?" Tyler asked immediately.
She knew just what Tyler needed to hear to take his attention away from what he had just seen.
"He didn't say that." She said as she darted a side glance at Klaus. He let his eyes show all his anger.
"You think you're so smart...infiltrating the pack." Klaus turned his attention to the hybrid. "They're using you."
"That's not true." Tyler denied hotly.
"Isn't it? Tell me, what useful information has the leader shared with you since they arrived? Nothing, that's what! He sold you that nonsense of you not dying with my blood line because you broke the sire bond, to make you trust him. The witch's name and whereabouts is the most important thing and he's kept that to himself, not even the rest of the pack knows and you think he'll tell you!? He's keeping you close for things you reveal not the other way round."
Tyler shook his head hard, maybe to shake off any doubt he himself had. "No..." He said weakly.
The original chuckled loudly. "And I know you wouldn't mind at all, helping them get what they want...but make your choices carefully Tyler, or somebody you care about could pay the price for it."
"Threatening my mother again?" Tyler's eyes shone with his hatred for Klaus as he too fisted his hands.
"Who told them the Salvatores had the white oak stake?" His sire asked him.
"You think I would ever...they already knew that!" Tyler defended himself.
Klaus eyes narrowed on the younger man, trying to read if he was lying. "If I find out..."
"Stop it!" Caroline interrupted him, her eyes huge in her face, hurt in them. "We all want the same thing here!"
Klaus turned his gaze on Tyler again, ignoring the pain in her eyes and what it could mean. "I have my doubts about that."
"Let's go." Caroline said, taking Tyler's hand in hers and moving away from Klaus.
Klaus didn't move a muscle, stood there as she and Tyler sat down next to their friends and they all started talking, obviously wanting to know what had occurred on the dance floor. He saw Caroline dart a furtive glance at him and after one last angry look at her, moved back to the bar.
He ordered another drink and gulped it down, then ordered another one and turning his fingers around the glass, turned to look at the full table on his right. All heads were turned towards Caroline while her eyes moved over them all. He didn't even need to hear to know that they were giving her the third degree. Then he saw Bonnie get up and a second later, Caroline with her and both left the table and walked towards the restroom.
Klaus lowered his eyes to his glass and sighed. He could still feel his anger simmering inside him. No matter how hard he tried, his impatience, his anger always got the better of him. She needed time, he knew that and still when he felt her next to him, it was so hard to just let her go…
From the corner of his eye, he saw Tyler get up and leave in a hurry. Klaus' eyes narrowed as he followed his exit. Where was he going? If back to the pack, he would be informed by his hybrids.
Klaus finished his drink and after another look at the table that still missed Caroline and the witch, he too left the bar.
When he got home, he was still in a bad mood.
"Bloody hell…" He grumbled as he threw the car keys on the small table in the living area. Klaus knew she needed time and he was more than ready to give it to her but it became so much harder when he saw and felt her own reactions to him. Tonight there had been an urge in him to almost shake Caroline, as if that would make her see, accept the truth…a truth that was becoming visible to her friends if he took in account Tyler's and Bonnie's eyes.
He was going to the bar and prepare himself another drink when he heard a car stop in front of the house. His head slowly turned towards the sound, he didn't know how but he knew it was Caroline. Felt it in his very bones.
She had come to him! He thought with a shaken breath as he walked back towards the front door. He heard her steps as she came closer and his heart beat quickened. The next steps faltered and when they completely stopped, he opened the door wide open.
She stood there, standing in the light coming from inside the house. Her lips parted in surprise and his own mouth tilted up. Yes, she had come to him.
The lyrics are from the song, 'Time for love' by Air Supply.