Author's note: Klaus is the star of a wildly popular horror movie franchise and assumes that the attractive blonde with a sharp tongue is just another star-struck fan. Oops.

This series reached over 550 reviews! Thank you, TwilightHybrid, for sending me my 550th review! When I started this series, it was a way for me to mostly slack off from my Klaroline multi-chaps when I've had an idea that couldn't be stretched into more (of course, several multi-chaps have now come out of this series — all thanks to you guys asking for more and being so enthusiastic about my stories!)

In other news, I expanded a one-shot from A Beautiful Symmetry. It's called The Blonde Witch Project. The new stuff starts on Chapter 2!


"Everything you can imagine is real."
― Pablo Picasso


One of his cloven hooves was missing. And his werewolf claws were chafing. Klaus Mikaelson was the star of the wildly successful horror franchise Hell's Hybrid,and as the popularity of the movies grew, so did his expectations for a certain level of quality in his character's monster costume. He was currently on set of Hell's Hybrid 5: Terrible Tears in New Orleans, and he could admit that while the first couple of movies had unique concepts that showcased the character's enigmatic, devilish side, once the property changed studios, the franchise suffered from formulaic, weak writing, ridiculous plotlines and phenomenally awful special effects.

He sighed in resignation as he watched several production crew members move a large lattice wall full of plastic vines with thorns that through a hilariously convoluted plotline would somehow lead to his demise for this particular movie installment. Enchanted thorns. Bollocks. He turned to stomp awkwardly toward his dressing room wearing only one cloven hoof when a nervous giggle distracted him.

"I believe this belongs to you," a lovely blonde told him, dangling his missing hoof between two of her fingers. He lazily flicked his gaze over her body, taking in the delectable way she filled out her pink tank top emblazoned with a Day of the Dead skull. From the flush that quickly stained her cheeks, his could tell that his interest hadn't gone unnoticed. Before he could respond, she dropped to her knees and looked up at him, cooing appreciatively, "Looks like I have a lot of work to do. Can I get started?"

He raised a questioning eyebrow, completely gobsmacked. He was used to overenthusiastic fans and had certainly encountered his fair share of groupies, but the seductive little vixen before him took his breath away. Clearing his throat, he projected his voice an octave lower than normal, ensuring his accent was on display as he replied, "As much as I'd love to watch you work, sweetheart, perhaps a more private venue is in order?" He gestured to the hallway behind him, adding, "My dressing room, perhaps?"

Confusion registered in her blue eyes but she nodded gamely as she stood up and said, "Of course. We can do this wherever you're most comfortable, Mr. Mikaelson. I actually have most of my gear set up in there."

Klaus couldn't deny the little thrill he felt when she called him by his surname, and it sounded like she had quite the show in store for him. He vaguely recalled his brother Kol had sent him a strippergram for his birthday last year. He wondered if this coy little minx had a collapsible stripper pole too?

"Klaus! There you are," Enzo St. John, the director, called out. He glanced at the blonde and said, "And I see you've met Caroline." Nodding in approval at her, he clapped Klaus on the back, telling him, "Caroline is the best horror special effects artist in the business. Now that the franchise has taken off and we have new investors, we can finally afford the professional touch our productions have been missing!"

Special effects artist. Bloody hell. Feeling his ears grow hot, Klaus did his best to look politely interested rather than reflecting the embarrassed surprise that he felt. He shook Caroline's hand, perhaps a tad too enthusiastically, and told her, "Welcome to the team, love."

Lips curled in a teasing smile, she answered, "Thank you, Mr. Mikaelson." Gesturing toward his dressing room, she added, "We should probably get started, though." Not bothering to see if he was following, she headed down the hallway.

"Of course, sweetheart. And please, call me Klaus," he called after her lamely, gritting his teeth when he saw Enzo's knowing grin. "Sod off," he growled lowly, hurrying after Caroline. He found her melting gelatin cubes beside his makeup chair, impatiently brushing aside several blonde strands that had escaped from her messy bun.

She fixed him with an unreadable look as he sat down, tilting her head to the side as she asked teasingly, "Stripper or groupie?"

"Excuse me," he asked, swallowing hard as he realized what she was asking.

She shook her head indulgently, blue eyes twinkling in amusement as she explained, "Which did you think I was — a stripper or a groupie?"

He watched her carefully tint the melted gelatin and answered wryly, "In my defense, sweetheart, you were somewhat misleading with your intentions when you approached me."

"What are you—" Caroline broke off abruptly, clearly thinking back to their first few moments together. Realization seemed to dawn on her as her mouth fell open with an embarrassed groan. "Seriously?! I was so focused on the art direction and overall makeup concept I didn't even think about how that would look to you..." she trailed off awkwardly. With an adorable blush staining her cheeks, she shrugged, gently stirring the gelatin. "So, not my smoothest transition to a production crew. Sorry," she muttered, carefully pouring the melted gelatin into a shallow mold.

"It's fine, love," Klaus reassured her with a chuckle, "It's actually not the oddest way someone has introduced themselves to me. On Hell's Hybrid 4: Burning White Oak, the producer had to hire additional security for my trailer because I kept finding fans in my shower."

Giggling, Caroline flipped open a metal toolbox at her feet, pulling out several long strips of red, orange and yellow LED lights. "I'm sure just one of the many hazards of shooting on location," she said sarcastically, lightly applying prosthetic adhesive to his calves.

"Well, we were in the middle of a bloody swamp on that film, so in addition to a stray alligator or two nosing through our rubbish, the crew waged a losing war against bugs the size of Chihuahuas." Intrigued as he watched her carefully coil the lights in spiraling patterns from his ankles to knees, he asked, "What's that you're doing, sweetheart? In four movies, this is the first time my character's costume has included headlights."

"Welcome to the future of special effects, Klaus." Scrunching her nose adorably, she confessed, "I've studied the makeup techniques used in your previous movies and we can get more realistic-looking flames if we strategically place LED lights with microchips linked to a software program I designed to mimic fire."

Recalling the previous movies' cheap-looking effects more akin to construction paper cutouts than high-end CGI, he cringed. Making an impressed noise, he admired the technique she was using to blend the edges of the lights into his skin with nothing more than a thick cream base and a sponge. "That's very creative — I'm a bit of a horror movie buff and I don't know that I've seen this innovative technique before."

Blue eyes lighting up excitedly, Caroline said, "Really?! I'm a huge horror fan too. I love the old '30s Hollywood black and white movies like The Gemini Coven and Doppelgänger Blood Magic. I mean, the special effects were rudimentary at best, but the artists used the new media of cinema to showcase their art to the world. They fused their passion for their art with the manic energy on set created by the infamous love triangle between the flaky actress Elena Gilbert and the volatile Salvatore brothers. Not to mention the youthful exuberance of her baby brother Jeremy when he would try to mimic Damon Salvatore's sleazy pickup lines on all of the extras."

"You speak as though you were there, sweetheart," he replied, charmed by her obvious enthusiasm for her art.

Starting her complicated technique on his other leg, Caroline wore an enigmatic smile as she said, "I get that a lot." She lightly tapped a small brush with flesh-toned powder and asked, "What about you? Are you a fan of old school horror or retro horror?"

"Definitely '60s horror. Pageant Screams, Chupacabra Cheerleaders, Unholy Pregnancy — those movies defined the supernatural slasher genre. They used to run those old movies on Sunday afternoons at this little theater in town. I grew up on them," Klaus explained in a fond, nostalgic tone. "The monster makeup was absolutely brilliant and actually inspired me to pursue an acting career."

Caroline's cheeks took on an odd rosy glow as she muttered, "You watched those? I wouldn't have guessed."

As he watched her slip the cooled gelatin from its shallow mold and place the realistic-looking burned flesh on his forearm, he observed, "Having watched those movies repeatedly, I can't help but notice you seem to use a similar technique with your own work. The swirled pattern you make with the bristles of your brush almost perfectly matches the gray scales on the monsters in Chupacabra Cheerleaders." Noting her questioning brow, he ducked his head in embarrassment as he mumbled, "I may have purchased the limited edition boxed set with five hours of special effects features." With a wry smile, he commented, "Although it seems I'm not the only one who's a fan, love."

"My world is pretty big — I derive my inspiration from a variety of places," she offered hesitantly. She shrugged, adding, "I may have seen those movies a few times myself."

Klaus favored her with a seductive smirk. "Perhaps I could interest you in stopping by later to watch one of those movies? You could tell me more about your world."

She laughed at his obvious flirtation. "We still have three more hours of work ahead of us. Let's see how that goes first." She rifled through her tool box, appearing to be missing something.

As she started to leave his dressing room, he teased, "Unless you're afraid to get to know me, love."

Caroline paused as she turned the doorknob, telling him, "It's been a long time since I was afraid." She glanced over her shoulder, shocking him into silence as he watched veins appear underneath her blue eyes which had darkened to almost black.

With a sunny smile suddenly tipped with sharp fangs, she added, "When I get back, I'd be happy to tell you what it was like working on set in those '60s movies you like. I can't promise it will be as fascinating as five hours of special effects features, but you did want to know more about my world..."