I'm back! With my first friends-to-lovers. Enjoy!
OOO
Caroline was five when she met Klaus for the first time.
She had never had a real friend before.
She had had regular play dates with Katherine and Elena, and sometimes with Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood when she was bored.
But they were all casual friends.
Katherine and Elena were more obsessed with playing with dolls than playing outside, and Matt and Tyler were just boring.
Caroline stormed out of the Gilbert house one day, frustrated that Katherine was at the doctor's and she was stuck with her twin—Elena, or whiny Elena, as she liked to call her.
Her mother had spotted her outside, since their house was across the street, and taken her home. Elena hadn't minded much, and retreated back into the house to terrorize her parents and be the general brat that she was.
Her mother had felt sorry for her and had taken her to the park at her insistence, reading a book while Caroline ran for the swings.
Caroline had developed her neurotic tendencies when she was very young, which had led to her marking a particular swing as hers. It was a very nice one too, with bright red bars and a black seat, with a picture of a sun drawn on it. It always cheered her up.
Unfortunately, when she got there, she noticed that a boy was already sitting on it. She immediately felt irritated, but decided to approach him with a calm demeanor at first, because that was what had been taught to her by her parents.
She was after all, a courteous girl.
She tapped the boy on the shoulder, and smiled at him pleasantly. He turned around to face her, a blonde eyebrow raised.
"This is my swing," Caroline said politely. "So please get up."
The boy narrowed his bright blue eyes at her. "No," he said shortly.
Well, that was rather rude.
Nevertheless, she resolved to still keep her cool. "Why not?"
"Because I was here first," the boy said, in a funny kind of voice, gripping the chains on either side. "So go away."
Well.
If he could be rude, so could she.
The polite smile melted off of her face. "This is my swing. Get off it."
"I will not," the boy said again. "I was here first. You can sit somewhere else."
"So can you!"
"But I don't want to," the boy said, smiling at her indulgently. "And you can't say anything about that."
"I can if I want to!" Caroline fired back. The boy looked at her, cocking his head to the side.
"What's your name?"
"I'm not allowed to tell my name to strangers. Especially not strange boys," Caroline bit out, making the boy grin.
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
Caroline huffed. "Caroline Forbes. What's yours?"
"Niklaus," said the boy promptly, making Caroline giggle.
"Sounds funny."
"People call me Klaus," said the boy, not sounding the least bit displeased at her reaction.
"I'll call you Nik," Caroline declared. "Cause it sounds nice."
"Nobody but my siblings call me Nik," said Klaus, fiddling with his shirt button, making Caroline frown.
"Should I call you Klaus, then?"
"No," said Klaus immediately. "Nik sounds nice."
"It does, doesn't it?" Caroline said, pleased that he had agreed. "Can I have my swing back, now that we're friends?"
Klaus chose to focus on the second part of the sentence. "We're friends?"
"Yes," said Caroline impatiently. "We know each other's names. So we're friends. I just said it, didn't I?"
A smile broke out across Klaus's face. "Yes."
"Caroline?" came her mother's voice, making Caroline turn around.
"Hi, Mommy," Caroline said walking over to her mother. "I made a friend."
"I can see that," said her mother amusedly. "What's your name?" she asked Klaus, who looked at the ground while answering.
"Niklaus Mikaelson."
"His name's Nik, Mommy," Caroline added. Her mother smiled at Klaus.
"You're the one who's family moved here."
Caroline looked at Klaus. "Where have you come from?"
"London," Klaus answered, a hesitant look on his face.
"Where's that?"
"On the other side of the world," he said, smiling slightly. "It was wonderful there."
"Is that why you speak funny?" Caroline questioned him.
"Caroline," her mother said in a reprimanding tone. "That was rude. Say sorry to Nik."
"Sorry, Nik," Caroline said, making Nik smile. Her mother smiled at the pair before walking off, sitting back on her bench.
"What's that on your nails?" Klaus asked, pointing at her hands.
"Nail polish. I had to put it on for my school play. Isn't it pretty?"
"It's very girly," he said, his nose wrinkled, and Caroline looked affronted.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means it looks like something girls put on," Klaus explained, but then cracked a smile. "But it looks nice on you."
"It'd look nice or your hands too, you know."
Klaus made a face. "I don't think so."
"It would!" Caroline protested. "See!"
She pressed her palm against Klaus's, then turned it towards him. "See, imagine my hand is yours. Doesn't it look pretty?"
He looked at her hand on his in wonder, then turned back to his original self when she looked at him expectantly. "No. It looks gross."
"Hmph," said Caroline, giving up. Boys and their boyish habits.
"Do you want your swing back?" Klaus asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Yes!" Caroline said, clapping her hands together. "I'd love that."
"You can have it, then," he said, jumping off of it. "Anything you want."
"Anything?"
"Anything."
"Can I have a pony, then?" Caroline asked, looking at him.
"When I grow up and become famous, I'll get you lots of ponies."
"Really? Why?"
"Because you're my friend."
"Thanks, Nik."
"You're welcome, Caroline."
OOO
Caroline was eight when she heard what went on in Klaus's house almost every day.
She had gone to his house to play when his father burst into his room, an angry expression on his face. Klaus's smile suddenly disappeared, making Caroline frown.
"Nik, are you ok?"
"Of course he is," said Klaus's father, staring at Klaus. "I just need to talk to him for a minute," he said, making Klaus breathe heavily. "Come along, boy."
Klaus smiled at her hesitantly before walking out of the door, his mutinous father following him. Caroline heard him say something after the door closed.
"Father—"
"Be quiet, Niklaus. Tell your friend she has to leave."
"But why?"
"Don't act like a daft child, Niklaus. Go inside and tell her."
"But, Father—"
"Do I need to repeat myself?" his father's voice asked dangerously, and Caroline felt a bit mad at the man for being so mean to her best friend.
There was a moment of silence. "No," came Klaus's voice quietly, before the doorknob creaked and Klaus came shuffling into the room.
"You need to go," he mumbled.
"Why?"
"I, er, have to go out," he said, his voice small.
"Really?" she asked dubiously, crossing her arms. "Out?"
"Yes," he said, his voice wavering. "I'll come over to your house this evening."
Caroline was suspicious, but she agreed and packed up her toys and called her mother on the landline, having byhearted the phone number by now.
Her mother came to pick her up, and as Caroline walked out of the door, she couldn't help but cast a wary glance over at Klaus, who's expression seemed extremely tense.
"Mommy?" she asked, immediately after they had gotten home.
"Yeah, honey?"
"Is Nik's daddy mean to him?"
A shadow crossed over Elizabeth Forbes' face, but immediately passed just as quickly. "That's their business, Caroline."
"Is he?" she persisted on stubbornly. Liz pursed her lips.
"All you need to know right now is that Nik will tell you everything when he's ready. You can't ask him about this, Caroline. He'll tell you when he decides to, and you can't press him. Ok?"
Caroline knew that there was something her mother hadn't told her, but decided not to press.
She wasn't that worried.
Klaus would tell her soon.
He told her everything.
OOO
Caroline was eleven years old when she and Klaus started getting along with the Salvatore brothers, Gilbert twins, and Matt and Tyler.
She and Klaus had kept to themselves for the past four years, preferring each other's company to the other children. Matt and Tyler had become friendlier, even though Tyler was a bit self-obsessed and Matt a little boring, and Katherine had evolved into a slightly better person, and Elena had become slightly less whiny.
Slightly.
Caroline noticed that Klaus wasn't very fond of Tyler or Matt that much, but rolled her eyes when he expressed his displeasure, and told him to stop being stupid and try to get along with the other kids.
Matt and Tyler had invited all the other children, including Klaus's siblings and Elena and Katherine's little brother Jeremy and Bonnie Bennett, the girl three blocks away from Caroline's house.
"Let's play soccer," Tyler announced, and Caroline agreed. She faintly heard Klaus mutter football under his breath behind them, and flashed him an amused smile.
"I'll be captain," Tyler announced, causing Klaus to roll his eyes. "Who wants to be the other captain?"
"Nik can do it," Caroline said cheerfully. "He's a great captain."
"You haven't even seen him play," Elena pointed out. "Damon or Stefan can do it."
"So can Nik," Caroline said, annoyed. "Nik, do you want to be captain?"
Klaus shrugged. "Sure."
"Great," Tyler said, a bit bored with the conversation. "Rock paper scissors to see who picks first."
Klaus won, and Tyler nodded, a faint scowl on his face. "Caroline," Klaus promptly said, and Caroline beamed, going to stand behind him. Tyler rolled his eyes.
"You just picked her because she's your best friend."
"No, I picked her because she's fast and can kick well," Klaus said irritably.
"Whatever. I pick Matt."
"Stefan."
"Damon."
"Katherine."
"Jeremy."
"Bonnie."
"Elena."
"You have Caroline, Katherine, and Bonnie in the girls. I have only Elena. That's not fair for you, you have too many girls on your team," Tyler said, making Caroline scowl.
"I picked them for a reason, Tyler. They're good at the game," Klaus said, clearly tired.
"Jeremy, Matt, and Damon are better."
"Stefan is equally good. I'll be fine. Worry about your own team, please," Klaus said, then dragged Caroline away to their end of their makeshift field. Stefan followed them, casting a glance at Elena and his brother, who were chatting animatedly.
Stefan had developed a small crush on Elena Gilbert, a sentiment which was shared by his brother. Caroline and Klaus had both privately agreed that this was stupid; Elena Gilbert was one of the dullest people they had ever come across.
Second dullest. The first title was reserved for Klaus's eldest brother Finn.
Bonnie agreed to be the goalkeeper, which meant Klaus, Caroline, Stefan, and Katherine had to be the outfield players. Tyler was the goalkeeper for the other team, leaving Jeremy, Damon, Elena, and Matt to be on the field.
The game progressed steadily for half an hour, but not before Elena tripped and started crying about how it felt like her arm was broken. Caroline closed her eyes irritably; now the game would be paused because Elena would be in too much pain to do anything. And one of the Salvatore brothers would probably choose to escort her back.
"I'll take her home," Bonnie said quietly. "It's fine. One player from their team and one player from ours."
Caroline nodded and sent a silent thank you gesture to Bonnie, which the latter responded to with a smile. Tyler waved them off and turned back to the rest of the children.
"I'll be goalkeeper," said Katherine, which was approved by Stefan, Caroline, and Klaus readily.
With the score 5-3 in Klaus's team's favor, Caroline could see Tyler was starting to get antsy. He had made the comment about Klaus having too many girls on his team. He and Matt started to play a bit rougher, an example of which was when Tyler kicked the ball slightly too hard and sent it flying into Caroline face.
She screamed and was knocked down to the ground, clutching her nose. Klaus's eyes widened, and Tyler took advantage of her injury and the rest of the team's distraction to kick the ball into the net, Katherine unable to save it because she was too busy staring at Caroline.
"Ouch!" Caroline shrieked, and made a horrified noise when she pulled her hands away and they came back stained with red spots.
"Nik," she whimpered. "There's blood."
Klaus rushed over to her, helping her up. He examined her nose, before gently pulling her fingers away from her face and grasping her hands in his.
"It's not that bad," he said gently, stroking her arms to soothe her. "We'll just get you home."
"Then we won't be able to finish the game," came Tyler's irritated voice from behind them, and Klaus's facial features twisted into an expression Caroline hoped she would never see on his face again.
Klaus turned around to face Tyler, still not letting go of Caroline's hand. "You hurt her," he said to Tyler, his voice shaking with anger. "So badly that there was blood, and now you're upset that we won't get to finish the game?"
Tyler shrugged. "It was an accident. She'll be fine."
Klaus's eyes flashed with anger. "Apologize."
"It was an accident," Tyler repeated, and Matt nodded from behind him.
"So?" Klaus demanded. "I don't see Caroline all fit and fine and dancing around. She got injured because of you, so say sorry."
"Fine," Tyler repeated irritably. "I'm sorry, Caroline."
Klaus narrowed his eyes at him, then turned back to Caroline. "I'll take you home."
Caroline nodded and sniffed, and walked back to the house, casting a glare over at Tyler behind Klaus's back.
"You were right," she muttered, when they were out of earshot.
"About what?" Klaus asked, confused.
"Tyler Lockwood is a jerk."
He grinned, pleased. "Told you so, didn't I?" She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, Nik, you were right. I don't need an I told you so right now."
His smile melted, and the concerned look was back on his face. "Does it still hurt?"
"A bit," she confessed. "But like you said, I'll be fine."
"Ok," he said, and she settled her head into the crook of his neck.
It would be the last time she admitted that Klaus was right, though.
OOO
Caroline was fourteen when she realized that her best friend was a boy.
Well, she had always known, but the fact became prominent to her during his eldest sister Freya's birthday.
She was turning twenty-two, and she was having two parties, only one of which was known to her parents.
One was going to be lunch with her family in the morning, and the other was going to be lasting till three in the next morning at her friend's place while they would get high and stoned with a number of other people and Freya's classmates.
The only person who knew were Klaus and Caroline, Klaus because he had caught Freya talking to her friends about the party, and Caroline because Klaus told her everything.
He had blackmailed Freya like the evil masterminded brother that he was, and Freya had given him fifty dollars to spend—twenty-five for him and twenty-five for Caroline to keep their mouths shut.
Klaus gleefully promised Caroline that they would do anything they wanted, because his parents were going out that night and as Freya was sneaking out, Finn and Elijah were unofficially in charge, which was even better, since Klaus loved to push his elder brothers' buttons.
"You can sleep over. We can skip dinner and order ice-cream," he said, looking at Caroline, a glint in his eyes. "Ice-cream for dinner. It'll be great. And the best part is we won't have to share it with Bekah or Kol or Henrik."
Caroline agreed readily, already making a note to bring extra bottles of fudge and whipped cream and boxes of sprinkles. "Should I bring candy and all that? We can do sundae Sunday."
"Do not ever say that in my presence ever again."
"Sundae Sunday."
"I'm uninviting you."
Caroline, true to her promise, showed up at Klaus's door later in the evening anyway, loaded with boxes of candy and toppings. Klaus opened the door, grinning widely, and they ran up to his bedroom, finding Klaus's desk piled with different flavors of ice cream.
She turned to Klaus, who was grinning. "I figured if Freya could get drunk on alcohol then we could get drunk on sugar."
"This is going to be amazing," Caroline said, giddy with excitement, and at the prospect of having only sugar for dinner, something which she had never done before.
True to his promise, she and Klaus had only ice-cream for the rest of the night, both going through the boxes of strawberry, chocolate, and coconut that night, saving the almond and berries for the next day.
Caroline was the first out of them to go on a sugar high, and Klaus watched her amusedly as she bounced around every corner of his room.
"I want to join the cheerleading squad when I'll go in high school," she said, while jumping around. "You've seen me do gymnastics, right, Nik? I'm good, right?"
"You are, love," he answered, a smile on his face, licking his spoon clean of chocolate. "You're very talented."
"What is with the nickname thing, Nik? I'm not your girlfriend."
His expression changed slightly. "You're a girl, and you're a friend." His voice seemed to strain slightly at the use of the word friend. "And British men call their girl friends love. I've seen it in movies."
"You're not in Britain. You're in America."
"I am British, love. Born and raised. For five years."
"Godddd, Nik, technicalities," she said, then fell face-flat on his bed. He laughed, making her scowl.
"It is not funny."
"I know, I know."
"Then stop laughing!" she growled, making him smile even more. She shoved him playfully, making him dodge. The spoon clattered and smacked the bowl, spilling a large amount of ice-cream over Klaus's shirt.
Caroline gasped. "Shit, sorry, Nik."
"No, problem, love. I just need to get off the bed before the sheets get stained. Then we'll be in trouble if Mother or Father find out. Especially Father."
"Why?" Caroline asked, and Klaus's eyes widened, and Caroline got the feeling that wasn't something he had intended to say.
"Because he doesn't like it," he said lamely, and Caroline raised an eyebrow.
She wondered how long Klaus would keep dragging along the I'm not physically abused by my father story. She had figured out what went on in his house by the time she was thirteen, but she had stayed true to her promise to her mother and not pestered him about it, ready to let him reveal his secret to her when he was ready.
But Klaus seemed adamant for her not to know, and Caroline was getting irritated by the façade he kept up.
He was her best friend, for god's sake. If anyone deserved to know, it was her.
Klaus smiled at her. "I just need to change. Try not to jump out of the window while I'm gone, yeah?"
"Try not to be such a douche, yeah?" she shot back, making him grin. He hopped off his bed and took off his shirt, throwing it on the floor, which Caroline knew Elijah would be irked by when he would step into Klaus's room.
But everything else was wiped from Caroline's mind when Klaus turned to face her.
When had her best friend become so hot?
It's not like she hadn't seen him shirtless before, she had, many times, but she had never really appreciated the smooth, hard planes of his stomach, his muscly arms, toned abdomen, and…so many other…parts…that hadn't been there when he had been pantless when he had been six. And he wasn't the body builder type, either, but was lean and muscly, and so, so, extremely—
Stop it, Caroline! He's your best friend!
Klaus was looking at her, cocking his head to a side. "You alright there, love?"
She nodded hastily. "Yep. I'm fine," she answered, her mouth slightly dry.
Klaus nodded distractedly, then slid on one of his overlarge t-shirts that Caroline sometimes borrowed. She glared at him.
"Not fair, Nik. That one's mine."
He rolled his eyes. "Really, Caroline?"
"Yes, Nik. As I recall you once promised me I could have anything I wanted."
"I was five," he said exasperatedly. "And so were you, for a matter of fact."
"You still need to buy me ponies."
Klaus rolled up his stained t-shirt and threw it at her, which she caught, a scowl on her face.
"You could've gotten chocolate on my skirt, Nik, it's new."
"Then you could've worn the new shirt you're oh so fond of."
"Shut up, Nik," Caroline said, grabbing a handful of M&Ms from the packet she had gotten. Klaus laughed.
"You're going to give yourself a heart attack with all that sugar, you know."
"You're the one who suggested we should get high on sugar tonight."
He contemplated her reply. "That I did." He grabbed the whipped cream can and squirted some into his mouth. "Want some?" he asked, his words nearly incoherent with all the cream in his mouth, making Caroline laugh.
"Sure."
He squirted some into his palm and wiped it over her face, making her gasp and squeal. "Nik!"
"You said you wanted some," he replied, an evil grin on his face.
"Oh, I am so getting you back for that," Caroline said, snatching the can from him and squirting some onto her palm and wiping it over his arms.
"You're dead," he growled.
"Nope!" she grinned, running out of his arm's reach.
"I'm going to kill you," he said, his tone playful, and he chased her, making her run out of the room and into the hall. She ran out, screaming, and Elijah poked his head out of his room irritably to gawk at the scene.
"Could you both please refrain from burning the house down? I am trying to do an assignment here," he said huffily, closing the door, unaware Caroline and Klaus both hadn't heard any of it. Klaus ran after her, chasing her around the kitchen, finally running after her in the living room, where he tripped on a stray toy Henrik had left lying around.
"Gah!" he shouted, and promptly fell down, causing Caroline to dissolve into a fit of giggles. "Caroline," he growled, noticing her laughing.
"Not sorry, Nik. You deserved it."
He made a face and pulled her down, and with a gasp she fell on top of him, causing him to laugh. He suddenly stopped when he realized how close their noses were, and Caroline swallowed. They were a bit too close, she realized, and the distance between them was getting a bit dangerously narrow. He suddenly pushed her off of him, shaking his head.
"We should go upstairs, Caroline," he said bluntly. "Rebekah and Kol could get into the ice-cream."
With that, he strode off, leaving Caroline to contemplate what was going on with him.
OOO
It happened when they was eighteen.
"You…you…had sex? With…him?" Klaus bellowed at her, looking at her incredulously. "You had sex with Tyler fucking Lockwood?"
Caroline winced involuntarily. "Yes."
"Caroline, you had sex with Tyler Lockwood, the boy we have both agreed is a walking, talking man-child with a tremendously large good for nothing ego and a small talent for American football?"
"You can call it just football, Nik, really, it's not that different—"
"Don't change the subject," he said, pointing a finger at her, and Caroline felt a stab of annoyance. "Why did you have sex with…him?" he asked, his tone distasteful.
"I had sex with him because he's hot and looks good all sweaty and shirtless and because I was horny, Nik. And because I had never had sex. And now I have. With him."
Klaus stepped back slightly. "So your solution for when you're aroused is to go fuck Tyler Lockwood."
"Okay, it was fine at first, but now it sounds like you're slut-shaming me."
"I'm not slut-shaming you, Caroline—"
"Oh, really?" she snarled at him, making him close his eyes for a second. "Excuse me, but I'm eighteen too, Klaus," she said, taking pleasure in the way he winced when she didn't call him Nik. "I have a right to fuck whomever I want. I don't need to ask you."
"I never said you did, sweetheart—"
"Don't sweetheart me, you dick. And you're one to talk. Haven't you slept with girls? Oh, that's right, you have. With half the girls in our year."
"Now, sweetheart, let's not—"
"I thought I told you not to call me sweetheart right now!"
"Caroline, I'm not slut-shaming you. I'm just bewildered why a girl like you could possibly want a boy like…him," he said exasperatedly, his tone reverting back to the distasteful tone. Caroline crossed her arms.
"I already told you, Nik. I'm eighteen. He's my age. He hasn't slept around much. He's a good guy—"
"No, he isn't."
"Nik, being petty and rude seven years ago is not called being a bad guy."
"He hurt you."
"Accidently."
"Do we really know that for sure?"
"I am not doing this again. Nik, Tyler might have his faults, but he is a good guy. He's smart…enough, he plays football well, and he didn't ditch me after fucking me," she said, noticing the tips of Klaus's ears turn red. "In fact, he asked me out."
"On a date?"
"Yes."
"And you said yes?" he asked incredulously. Caroline sighed.
"Nik…give him a chance, okay? I know you don't like him—"
"I hate him."
"Hate is a strong word."
"It's the right one."
"Moving on," she ploughed on, "I know you're not too fond of him, and trust me, he doesn't like you much either, but he's not a horrible person." Seeing Klaus huff, she continued. "Listen, he's asked me to a party in the woods tonight. Come with me, okay? It'll be fun."
"I can't see how on earth it will be fun."
"It will if you lose the attitude and the prejudice. Look, you can even bring one of your girls."
"I don't want to," he said distractedly. Caroline sighed.
"Well, then, bring Kol or Stefan. You're coming either way, and since you've been reluctant to make any friends these past fifteen years, you're stuck with them. I'll be in the woods. You'll come. I'll see you there."
She walked out, ignoring the burning feeling in her chest.
OOO
She broke up with Tyler after three months after she finally caught on to her own feelings.
"It's not working out," she had said, and he had shaken his head with a quiet laugh.
"You don't have to lie to me, Caroline. I know what the real reason is. The way you two look at each other…you can't hide it. It's fine. We all knew it was going to happen."
She hadn't even tried to defend her actions, just walked out of his hallway and had run straight to Katherine's.
Normally, her go-to place would be Klaus's. But since he himself was the reason she had broken up with Tyler, she didn't really want to see or listen to him. All she wanted was to talk to an actual girl at the moment, someone with brains and boobs and girl feelings and someone who she could talk to about this. This, this…absolute…mess…of a situation she had gotten herself into. She pounded on the door of the gilbert house and Katherine answered it immediately. "Caroline? What happened? Are you okay?"
"You're my best friend, Caroline."
"You're the greatest person I've ever met, Caroline."
"You look beautiful, Caroline."
"You look stunning, sweetheart."
"I do?"
"You do. You'll be the best dressed cheerleader there ever was."
"Love? Why are you crying? What happened?"
"Damon Salvatore said I was a shallow, stupid, worthless idiot."
"He said what? I'll kill him. I'll murder him. I'll torture him slowly and painfully and I'll make sure his stupid little girlfriend watches. And I'll enjoy every last part of it."
"No, don't."
"Caroline, he— "
"He's right. I'm shallow. I'm…worse than shallow. I'm a kiddie pool."
"How can you possibly say that? How can you possibly think that?"
"Because it's true."
"It is not true. It is the furthest thing from true. You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light. People love you. I enjoy you."
Caroline's sobs broke free and tears ran down her cheeks. Katherine stared at her in shock and she couldn't believe it, she was standing on Katherine's front porch at eleven in the night crying her eyes out after having an epiphany about her feelings for her best friend in the world.
God, this sucked.
"I—I love him," she sobbed, her voice hitched by snot and tears. "I love him."
At first Katherine looked bewildered. "Tyler?"
"Nik," Caroline cried desperately, wiping her nose. "I love Nik. And I've been dating that idiot all this time, just because he's hot. Can you believe this? How stupid am I?"
Katherine stepped out the door and dragged Caroline to the steps. Sitting down delicately, she pulled her down. "Calm down, Care. Slow down. Rewind. What happened?"
"I—I broke up with Tyler. Because I didn't love him. I love Nik."
"No, I got that part. When did you realize?"
"Yesterday night. I was talking to Tyler and he kept calling me his girlfriend and even though we are official and he is—was—my boyfriend, it didn't seem right to call me that. And then Nik walked in, and he absolutely filthy, covered with mud and everything, and I asked him what he had been doing, and he told me Henrik had asked him to hang out with him, and he had said yes because he knew Henrik felt lonely a lot, and I realized, Nik, an eighteen-year-old adult, is taking out time from his life to just hang out with his little brother just because he felt lonely. Because that is the kind of thing Nik would do for his family, and…and…and…"
"Caroline," said Katherine, her eyes wide. "Does he know? How you feel?"
"No," Caroline, said, rubbing her eyes. "He doesn't."
"Do you know how he feels about you?"
She hesitated. "No."
"Tell him, Caroline. This is serious. Please. You'll go crazy if you don't."
She agreed to, after half an hour minutes of blatantly refusing.
She arrived at his house at twelve in the morning, knocking on the door, expecting him, only to have the door opened by a disheveled Elijah, who was, for once in his goddamned life, not wearing a fucking suit.
"Ca—Caroline?" He stammered, taking note of her appearance. "It's—do you know what time it is?"
"Nik," she breathed. "I need to talk to Nik."
Elijah breathed in deeply. "He's in his room."
She hurtled past him, taking the stairs three at a time, finally stopping in front of the door that had a small hand carved Klaus near the doorknob. She raised her fists and pounded on the door, yelling. "Nik! NIK! OPEN UP!"
He opened the door almost immediately, his eyes heavy with sleep, which disappeared immediately to be replaced with an alert look of concern when he noticed her disheveled hair, runny nose, mascara-stained cheeks, and flushed face.
"Caroline? What happened? I thought you were out with Tyler." His expression darkened. "What did he do? If he tried anything, if he hurt you—"
She flung herself on him, making sure her mouth landed firmly on his, wrapping her arms around his neck. He made a sound of surprise, then hesitantly put his arms around her waist.
How, how, could he be hesitant when it felt to incredibly, inexplicably, right?
He tasted of salt and mint. He smelled of woodsmoke, paint, and pine trees. He smelled like him. Like Nik.
Her Nik.
She kissed him more firmly, finally breaking away to stare at his dazed expression. "I love you," she said, shaking her head when he tried to interrupt. "I love you more than anything I've loved in the world. Anything. You are something that I have, and I'm never letting you go, because I love you so much it physically hurts to breathe when I look at you, touch you, talk to you, just…feel you. And I love you. So, so much."
His eyes were damp. "I…"
"You don't have to say anything, Nik," she said, hanging her head. "Really. I—"
The words were cut off when he caught her mouth in another searing kiss, this one more intense than the last.
You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light. I enjoy you.
She laughed through her tears. He grinned. "Don't have to say anything, my arse. I love you, Caroline. More than you know. And I have, for so many years. Since the day I met you in that godforsaken park and you showed me those nails of yours."
She gave a watery chuckle.
"You're my everything, Caroline Forbes. My heart and my soul. You're beautiful, you're courageous, you're witty, you're absolutely brilliant. You're perfect. You're the best thing to ever happen to me, sweetheart, I love you."
She shook her head. "Thank God."
"There was doubt?"
"No," she said truthfully. "I knew."
"I would've been shocked if anyone thought otherwise," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Caroline closed her eyes, a smile on her face, nestled into the crook of Klaus's neck.
This was happiness. This was peace. This was right.
Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Please review!
You can find me on Tumblr with my pseudonym/username adriannalovesthestars
Sophie
