Klarosummer Bingo Prompt: Flower garland

It took everything in her power not to shred the delicate, breathtakingly beautiful flower garland in her hand as Kol favored her with another teasing smirk. Caroline had to admit, if she hadn't heard from Bonnie what a disgusting cheating bastard he was, she'd been downright jealous of her best friend.

Caroline had arrived in town last night to surprise Bonnie, but instead, she'd been greeted by red-rimmed eyes and a hiccupping voice so choked with tears she only understood about every third word. Finally, Caroline managed to pry the story out of her friend and learned she'd been seeing a guy named Kol and right after he asked her to move in together, she caught him cheating on her. It was heartbreaking to hear all of the details, not to mention the fact that Bonnie already had been making the flower arrangements for his sister Rebekah's wedding.

Which is how Caroline ended up opening Bonnie's flower shop that morning so Bonnie didn't have to face Kol when he stopped by to pick up the flowers. While Bonnie hadn't shown her a picture of the rat bastard, she figured it wouldn't be too hard to spot a rich, attractive asshat with a British accent in a town as small as Mystic Falls.

"Hello, love. I'm here to pick up some sort of flower garland things for a wedding."

She eyed him critically, taking in the expensive lines of his suit. Damn, that beautiful bastard could wear the hell out of Brioni. "Rebekah's brother, right?" She didn't bother to hide the contempt in her tone as she finished packing up the boxes topped with the Bonnie's Blooms store logo.

"You've heard of me then?" He kept trying out that sexy grin on her, this time throwing in some unexpectedly innocent dimples. She felt her temper flare at the thought of Kol using those dimples to weasel his way into her friend's heart.

Caroline gave a brief jerk of her chin, muttering, "I was told you'd be stopping by." Was he seriously not even going to ask where Bonnie was? Unbelievable. "Just point me to your car and I'll help you carry these out," she said briskly, scooping up several boxes and heading toward the door.

"And what's your name, sweetheart," he asked, a twinkle in those gray eyes of his that she did not appreciate.

"Caroline," she practically snarled, resisting the temptation to slam the trunk lid of his Mercedes on his hand as he loaded the rest of the boxes.

He didn't seem to be the least bit discouraged by her rudeness; if anything, it appeared to intrigue him. Weirdo. "Caroline. Beautiful name. Perhaps when this wedding nonsense of my sister's is behind us, I could stop back by and we could go for a drink?"

Seriously?! Kol was unbelievable. He was actually hitting on someone he just met in his girlfriend's flower shop?! She narrowed her blue gaze, giving an unimpressed snort as she stomped off. "Not. Interested."

She was still fuming when she saw Kol go into the bakery down the street. Leaving his sleek Mercedes unattended...hmm.

Not bothering to think through the consequences, she grabbed a can of hot pink spray paint from Bonnie's craft table and raced outside, blood roaring in her ears. She took a moment to appreciate the elegant curves of the gorgeous Mercedes before gleefully painting 'Cheating bastard' in enormous block letters.

And that's when it got awkward.


She assumed that in a few years, she'd look back on this day of numerous firsts and laugh. Her first act of vandalism, her first arrest, her first ride in a cop car, her first time in lockup. She snorted, wondering if her one phone call should be to Bonnie to see if she could sweet talk that cheating bastard boyfriend of hers into dropping the charges.

"Nothing about this is particularly amusing, Caroline," a low voice growled, and she was startled to see Kol glaring at her from the doorway.

She rolled her eyes, assuming the rich asshat had bribed the deputy on desk duty so he could sneak back there to taunt her. "The look on your face was pretty funny, you sleazy bastard."

He looked genuinely puzzled as he replied, "I must confess that attractive, hostile women always have been a weakness of mine, but I can't for the life of me decide what I've done to earn your ire, sweetheart."

Caroline didn't bother keeping her voice down as she shrieked, "Seriously?! You waltz into Bonnie's shop and hit on the first skirt you see and you don't see anything fundamentally wrong with that?!" At his confused expression, she threw her hands up, yelling, "Bonnie saw you with that girl! She knows you've been cheating on her, Kol!"

She detected a sudden shift in the air, and didn't understand the speculative look he gave her. "Ah, well, that explains several confounding aspects of our brief interactions, love."

He stepped forward, delivering an oddly formal bow that felt even more out of place given they were in a police station. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Klaus, Rebekah's other and arguably better brother."


Klarosummer Bingo prompt: "Just drive until you see water."

One night stands shouldn't be milling around my store like they own the place. Caroline narrowed her eyes at the inconveniently sexy hybrid as he pretended to aimlessly wander around her tea shop, hands clasped behind his back as he purposely avoided her gaze.

She continued to glare at the back of Klaus' curly head while she assisted a customer on the phone. "Yes, we have vervain Darjeeling, and we're open until six if you'd like to stop by today. We're at the end of Bienville Street overlooking the Mississippi. Just drive until you see water."

"Or, you could have told them to follow the beautiful light emanating from the Quarter. You could power all of New Orleans with your smile alone, sweetheart."

Rolling her eyes, she hung up the phone, reaching for the green and black bag from underneath the register. "Here's the Bolivian moonstone black you wanted to try. Not that I care, but do you realize that you've spent more in my shop in the past two weeks than I typically earn in a business quarter?"

"I told you I was a connoisseur of fine teas. And your quaint little shop happens to carry everything I could desire," he told her with a seductive smirk, flashing to the counter in a showy flash of supernatural ability that she definitely shouldn't find so appealing. After all, she'd grown up in the spiritual nexus of New Orleans; supernatural was the most normal part of this town. But there was something about the cocky hybrid...

"While I agree my shop carries the most rare and unusual teas that I've personally curated over the years, you know damn well that's not why you're here." She raised an eyebrow, her tone a bit spiteful as she added, "You're the Original Hybrid — you like the chase. And the fact that we had one night together and then I slipped away the next morning somehow screwed with your lizard brain and now you're out to prove you're a mighty hunter or whatever."

His gray eyes darkened a bit, a hint of wolf gold as his temper flared. "You're making assumptions, love. We've shared a connection ever since I arrived in this city. Don't deny what's between us just because you're frightened."

He's an Original. An ancient immortal. What does he know about fear? A decade ago, Caroline and her coven had waged a war against Marcel and his army, and when they lost, all of the witches in New Orleans came under his tyrannical rule. Witches were no longer allowed to practice their ancestral magic, and his loyal gangs of daywalkers and nearly feral nightwalkers were a constant, menacing threat to keep them in line.

"I don't have time for this today, Klaus," she huffed in annoyance, glancing at the moon phase app on her phone.

He shrewdly observed, "Because you have to gather the burdock root precisely at moonrise to distribute among your coven?"

Caroline fought to keep her expression impassive even as her heart began to thud in her chest. How did he know about their plan? Her closest sister in the coven, Bonnie, was to be executed tonight. Marcel had imposed laws upon his kingdom, many too numerous and convoluted to properly recall, but there was one above all others that must be obeyed: Thou shalt not kill a vampire. Murdering one of his chosen army was a death sentence — no trial, no mercy.

Bonnie didn't have a choice, Caroline angrily thought. Damon, one of Marcel's psychotic daywalkers, had attacked Bonnie, and he would've drained her had she not used her magic. Not that Marcel cared about such things — he'd been looking for the flimsiest of excuses to end the powerful Bennett line. However, Caroline refused to let that happen; she and the rest of the coven would save her tonight. But if Klaus chose to stand in their way...

She didn't bother playing coy; clearly he'd guessed their plan to rescue Bonnie. She bluntly asked, "Are you going to try to stop us?"

"No." She waited for him to say more, to tip his hand and reveal his loyalties in the upcoming battle. She knew of his history — the fallen king who'd returned to reclaim his throne. He kept his schemes to himself; it was rumored that not even his noble brother Elijah was privy to his plans.

When an amused smirk spread across his face at her obvious impatience for his brief answer, she put a hand on her hip and snapped, "Well, are you going to help us, then?"

"I'm afraid I must stay neutral at this juncture, sweetheart," he replied, the hint of regret sounding foreign on his tongue as he tried to reach out to stroke her cheek.

She jerked away, blue eyes spitting fire as she told him, "Only cowards refuse to pick a side." Pointing to the door, she commanded, "Get out." She turned away, too angry to see the hurt register on his face before he flashed away.


The courtyard of the abandoned hotel was lit with bonfires, the firelight reflected in the savage gaze of the nightwalkers that gathered around Marcel like slavering dogs. Bonnie had been forced into a binding circle, weakened and stripped of her magic. From her vantage point behind the broken neon sign, Caroline glanced around the perimeter to ensure key coven members were in place. She could feel the magic rising in her blood, comforted by that familiar rage. Marcel should've known better than to fuck with one of their own.

Just before Marcel gave the signal, Caroline caught sight of Klaus in the crowd, his hybrid face emerging. She held back her coven for a moment, giving him a chance to prove what side he was on.

And then, the war would begin.