A/N – I rewrote this chapter because I wasn't satisfied with it; also one of the guest reviewers pointed out how they were uncomfortable with the very racist conversation that takes place at Rebekah's place between Kol and Tanya. I want to thank them and apologize for making them feel uncomfortable. It was not my intention. But I hope to address it again; I didn't like or approve of any of the characters or how they treated Tanya, but this is an experience I myself have had and I wanted to show it this way. We will see Tanya reacting to it later, and Caroline realizing her mistake for not defending her friend and apologizing. But if it wasn't for the reviewer, I wouldn't have thought of addressing it, so I want to thank them J
Also, a lot of this is Caroline's perspective, so having a healthy amount of doubt and skepticism while reading the story is encouraged J
When in Whitmore Chapter 3
Three Months After the Birthday Party
After Caroline had made her escape to her mother's house and much to her mother's dismay, had immediately set off for San Francisco the early next morning. She couldn't bear to be in the same place anymore. It was only after a week of avoiding her friends' calls that she allowed them to come visit her and speak with her. Although things weren't much better, she did forgive them.
College was to begin soon and there was so much shopping and planning to do. Caroline felt herself getting so excited about decorating her dorm room and living with her friends, if possible. It was only when college began that she found that Bonnie and Elena had chosen to be each other's roommates—she tried not to feel too bad about it; she had to admit she was a bit relieved to get some distance from them. Lately she had been feeling smothered. Stefan had told her he would not be living in a dorm, but outside the campus in a flat with Matt was attending a college nearby.
Caroline found herself with a nice roommate—Tanya—from India, with whom she was apprehensive about living together at first, but soon found herself getting used to her. She kind of reminded Caroline of April from back in Mystic Falls. It was still the first week of living together so they had yet to get close. It was when they had decided to get lunch between classes one day that Caroline ran into someone she hadn't met or thought of in a long time.
"Caroline," she heard a voice call out to her as she was speed-walking on the pavement. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry up. She came to a halt when she heard someone call her name and turned to see—
"Klaus," she whispered, a smile overtaking her face before the wariness set in. She hadn't forgotten everything evil all of her friends had told her about Klaus and how she was to remain away from him at all costs. He had been leaning against a car, presumably waiting for something or someone, when he had called out her.
"How are you?" he was smiling as he came to stand in front of her.
"I'm good," Caroline said, pasting a sweet smile on her face. "Although I really need to get somewhere soon, so can I talk to you later?"
"Well, of course," he said with a sympathetic expression on his face and he immediately turned to walk to his car and open it. He looked at her as if waiting for her to get in. She raised an eyebrow, curious.
"And what do you think you're doing?" She asked.
"I thought we decided we would go to the museum," Klaus shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Caroline watched him carefully, an amused smile hanging from her lips.
"Yeah, I don't think so," she said, closing the door of the car Klaus had opened for her. Klaus raised an eyebrow, still smirking, shutting the door of the driver seat he had opened for himself. He leaned against the car, pressing a hand against the roof and resting his chin on it. Caroline tried not to think about how immensely attractive he looked...how carefree and charming.
"And why is that?"
"Because." Caroline shrugged.
"That doesn't seem like a very good reason."
"I didn't know I needed a good reason to stay away from you," Caroline said, no longer smiling. Even Klaus had stopped smiling. His face contorted into confusion which soon morphed into anger when Caroline said the next few words, "I heard about you. The things you have done; the things you do."
"And what things might they be?" Klaus asked, tightly. The mood had shifted entirely.
"Oh, you know what things," Caroline said dismissively.
"Humor me," he pressed.
"I know about the fights, Klaus," Caroline sighed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I know all about the fights you get into. The—the brawls you and your brothers get into all the time. I just," she cocked her head to the side, shaking it, "I don't have the strength in me to deal with all of this."
Klaus clenched his jaw and then unclenched it. "Who told you all of that?"
"Is it true?"Caroline asked, instead.
"Was it Stefan?"
"That's not a no," Caroline crossed her arms across her chest, her mouth twisting into a sad smile. "It was nice meeting you...?" she offered helplessly. "But I just—I can't do this. I don't want to be—," she abruptly cut herself off. She didn't want to say it for fear of sounding too rude.
"Don't want to be what?" Klaus demanded, pushing himself off of the car. Caroline flinched but otherwise did not say anything. Klaus remained on the other side of the car, waiting. At least there was distance between them, she told herself. It wasn't going to dissolve into anything dangerous. He wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't. Right?
Even after a long excruciating minute had passed, Klaus still seemed to be waiting. Caroline chewed the inside of her cheek, staring at the pavement. She didn't want to say it.
"Don't want to be what, Caroline?" Klaus asked again, his voice steel. Caroline looked up to see his face had lost its earlier warmth and softness. It was cold stone now.
"I can't save you," she whispered, finally. She felt sorry for saying it, but it felt important for him to know. She couldn't save him. She wasn't his messiah. She wasn't going to be his saving grace. His shit was a mess and she didn't want to get in it. She was sorry she felt that way because she knew it hurt him. But she wasn't sorry she put herself first.
All of the anger and darkness from Klaus's face vanished as a certain painful heartbreak began to descend upon him. His face drooped to his chin as his mouth lost its earlier tightness. He was all soft and sad and miserable; Caroline couldn't bear to look at him.
"I should go," she said, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I'm—I'm sorry Klaus. I am really thankful for what you did that day."
She waited for a second to see if Klaus would respond but he didn't. He merely got into his car and drove away. Caroline felt a bizarre sense of emptiness descend into the pit of her stomach, but she steeled herself. She couldn't get into Klaus's shit. She made the right choice.
When she finally made it to her lunch date, fifteen minutes late, she expected to see Tanya annoyed but was surprised when not only was she very cheerful but that she wasn't alone.
"Hey, Caroline!" she waved Caroline over, and immediately turned to the other person, whom Caroline hadn't taken a good look at, and said, "meet my friend Rebekah."
Caroline's smile immediately morphed into a confused/horrified grimace. "A pleasure, I'm sure," Rebekah smirked at Caroline, recognition immediately seeping into the former's eyes. "Oh, do play nice," she said at Caroline's continued grimace.
"H-how do you know each other?" Caroline finally asked after she had taken a seat next to Tanya. The latter looked at the two blonde girls with a raised eyebrow.
"How do you know each other?" she asked in return.
"We met at a party a couple of months ago," Rebekah said dismissively. "And to answer your question," she said looking at Caroline, "Tanya and I take the same class in my university. We became fast friends after one class."
"Yeah," Tanya said, heaving a sigh of relief, "She was the only white girl not offended when I pointed out the obvious racist dynamics in all of Tarantino's movies—which, can I just point out, did not go down well with the so-called indie cinema loving chumps? Oh, and I also pointed out that our syllabus was heavily whitewashed."
Caroline's eyes widened. She didn't know how to respond. Truth be told, she
wasn't very well versed when it was about sensitive things such as politics or race or religion. She would always happily keep her mouth shut and listen, for fear of saying something stupid or offensive.
"Yeah, the professor wasn't happy about that too," Rebekah smirked.
"Yeah, I think I may fail the class," Tanya's face suddenly fail. "But at least I made a point."
"Okay," Caroline said forcefully, "that's...interesting. I'm sorry you had that experience though. I wish I was also there as some support."
"Well, you can take the class if you want," Rebekah pointed out. "If it doesn't conflict with your schedule, that is."
Caroline felt herself caught in a trap; she probably looked like a deer in headlights. "Oh, uh, yeah," she sputtered, drawing out a laugh from the other two girls. "I wasthinking of dropping today's class; it was so boring. I guess...I guess I could do it."
"You don't have to do it, Caroline. Rebekah's just messing with you," Tanya smiled at her sympathetically. She felt touched by her friends' kindness.
"No, I—I want to do it. I think it'll be fun," Caroline said suddenly, straightening up, "let's all take this class and show them motherfuckers!" She exclaimed, a little louder than she had intended, drawing disapproving looks from other people in the restaurant. Rebekah and Tanya exchanged a look before bursting out into laughter.
"Okay, I think it'll be fun," Tanya agreed. "So, remember to sign up by the end of the day, yeah?"
Caroline nodded and she suddenly found herself more hopeful for the semester. She didn't realize how much time she would end up spending with her roommate and Stefan's ex-girlfriend, and how easily she would forget about all of it, and they would become her closest friends.
Caroline was wary when she first stepped into Rebekah's flat. She expected Klaus to pop in any time. "He's not here," Rebekah said, dropping the keys of her car in the key holder near the entrance. She smirked when Caroline sputtered and claimed to not know what she was talking about. It had been a month since she had run into Klaus that day on the street, and she didn't want to have another run-in with him. Especially when she heard that Kol and him had gotten into a bar fight in the last week.
"You live alone here?" she heard Tanya ask as they all entered further into the well-furnished flat. "Being rich pays." Caroline nodded alongside Tanya.
"Yes, it does, and you're welcome to crash here whenever you want," Rebekah said with a shrug. Tanya gave her a lazy smile before going to plop down on the sofa. She took out her books and laid them out on the small coffee table in front of them.
"I think we've run out of soda and snacks. I'll go to the convenience store and get some. Anything else you guys want before we begin studying?"
"Nope, I'm good, I think," Caroline said, and Tanya also gave her a thumbs up.
"So," Caroline said. "What's with the awkward energy between the two of you?"
Tanya gave her a look of confusion before relenting. She "Ugh," the dark-haired girl groaned, "it's kind of awkward, because we're in the same postcolonial literature class. I could literally feel her shrink and become smaller and smaller."
It was Caroline's turn to look confused. "Because England colonized India...?" Tanya said slowly, like she was talking to someone stupid.
"Oh, yes," Caroline said, suddenly realizing. A bark of laughter burst forth from her before she could stop it; and soon she just couldn't stop laughing. "I'm sorry, it's just so silly. I mean can you just imagine Rebekahof all people shriveling and just shrinking of embarrassment, GOSH," Caroline said between laughing and gasping for air. Tanya rolled her eyes but let out a chuckle.
"It was hilarious," she admitted. The door suddenly opened, and the two girls looked up in surprise. It wasn't who they expected.
"Well, Rebekah, I would hope you would learn to lock your door one of these days," a voice said causing panic in both of them, especially Caroline, whose eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. It was Klaus.
"Oh, let it be, Nik, we both know nobody wants to enter the harpy's house," another voice said. Ah great, he wasn't alone. It was the other brother Caroline knew Rebekah had, but she couldn't remember his name. Tanya and Caroline exchanged an awkward look as they waited for the brothers to discover them. It was Klaus who first came into view and saw them. He had bags, of what looked like groceries, in his hands. His eyes went from alarmed to curious in the span of a second.
"Caroline?" he asked, confused. His younger brother, who was right behind him, stopped to see what the matter was.
"Ah, I remember you," he said with a smirk. Caroline shrunk further. "But what are you doing here?"
Both brothers waited for an answer while they went to the open kitchen to place the stuff they had bought on the counter.
"We're Rebekah's friends, we're just waiting for her to come back," Tanya finally spoke up. As if just seeing her, Klaus and Kol looked at her and then exchanged a look amongst themselves.
"Rebekah has friends?" Klaus asked.
"Female friends?" Kol asked, instead.
"And you are...?" Tanya asked, tired of all the bizarre rhetorical questions.
"We're Rebekah's brothers. Surely, she must have mentioned us," Kol said with a smirk on his face as he stalked towards them. Tanya only shrugged in response. "I'm Kol, and this grumpy one's called Niklaus."
"But you can call me Klaus," Klaus called out.
"I'm Tanya and she's—,"
"Caroline," Kol said with a glint in his eye, "we know."
Tanya raised her eyebrows and looked at Caroline questioningly. But the latter willfully ignored her friend. She was feeling extremely irritated and jumpy. She hadn't seen Klaus, not since their not so very friendly argument on the street, and here he was, acting like nothing was wrong between them. Or like there was nothing at all between them for him to be upset. Had he gotten over her already? Caroline scolded herself for being silly. There was nothing to get over. They spoke once. It was nice. But that was it. It bothered her; this blasé, uncaring Klaus. Or did he come here knowing she would be here...?
"What are you guys even doing here?" Caroline finally asked, unable to take it anymore. "Did you know...?" Caroline asked Klaus with narrowed suspicious eyes.
Klaus looked at her innocently before going back to the task at hand: organizing things into Rebekah's shelves and refrigerator. "We're just here to make sure our little sister wouldn't starve to death," Klaus said from behind the refrigerator. Caroline rolled her eyes. "And as for your insinuation, no I had no idea that you would be here."
"And what are you?" Kol asked, a smile curving his lips, leaning on the back of the sofa. "No, don't tell me, Spanish? Trinidadian? No, no wait, could it be an Indian beauty I'm speaking to?"
"Me no English," Tanya said, unamused. Caroline let out a snort. When she looked at Kol she found him smirking even more widely.
"I like this one," he announced to no one in particular as he stood up to go back to the kitchen area.
"I apologize for my brother. He's not used to meeting normal human beings," Klaus called out from where he was unwrapping the food and putting it in Rebekah's fridge. Were they really here just to stock Rebekah's kitchen? That was...sweet. "
Kol let out a bark of laughter at his brother's comment. "Speak for yourself. Anyway, what are you lovely ladies up to? Anything I could help with?" he said, coming to sit by the chair next to the sofa. Tanya glowered at him and purposefully ignored him, focusing on taking out books from her book bag.
"We're here to study with Rebekah," Caroline supplied. She earned a glare from Tanya which left her confused. Ah. She was not supposed to engage with the enemy. Too late now for Kol had snatched one of the books lying on the table in front of them and started rummaging through it.
"Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish," he said in a mocking sing-songy way. Caroline heard Tanya take a sharp intake of breath.
"Okay, enough of that," Tanya snapped, "give me the damn book."
"Well, love, that's no way to speak to someone, is it?" Kol said, flashing her a smile.
"Kol," they heard Klaus's voice call out. A warning. Kol rolled his eyes before handing Tanya the book. He took out his phone and started flipping through it impatiently. "boring, boring, boring," he muttered under his breath before throwing his phone on the table with a loud clang which startled both the girls.
"I'm bored, amuse me," he said to the both of them.
"Will you quit that before I knock your head off?" Caroline finally snapped. Kol raised his eyebrows but lifted his arms up in surrender.
"This one's feisty. Nik, now I understand—,"
"So what class are you studying for?" Klaus asked loudly, cutting his brother off. Caroline's cheeks turned pink from what Kol had almost said. So Kol knew that Klaus had a thing for her? The latter was still in the kitchen, and while Caroline wanted to look at him, she didn't want to seem like she was staring. So, she stared at the book in her hand.
"General Author Theory class," Tanya said. Now it was Caroline's turn to glower. Tanya gave her a bemused look. Ah, how the tables turn! She seemed to have piqued Klaus's interest.
"Ah, The Second Sex," Klaus said, plopping down next to Caroline, who gave him a startled look. She hadn't even heard him walk over. Damn, he was sneaky! "I remember reading this and having—,"
"Okay, really, I don't care Klaus," Caroline interrupted Klaus, moving a bit away from him to almost squeeze Tanya into the other end of the sofa. The latter girl let out a squeak but did not say anything otherwise. "We get it. You read. You think you're cool because of it," Caroline said.
He ignored her as he took the book from Caroline's hands and started going through it. "I haven't read this in so long," he said to no one in particular before he returned the book to her.
"And how have you been, Caroline? I feel like I forgot to ask," he said, smiling innocently, as if they were close friends, as if their proximity was normal. Caroline was suddenly struck by a realization. She realized that the Klaus she saw in the party was an exception. This was the real Klaus. Sneaky, charming but deceptive, and annoying; so very annoying. This was the Klaus everyone saw and knew. And she didn't even know him that well.
"I'm fine," she snapped. "So, how long are you going to be here for?" Caroline asked.
"I'm fine too, love, thanks for asking. And also, how long do you want me to stay for?"
"I wanted you gone, like, yesterday," Caroline said sweetly. Klaus let out a bark of laughter before getting up.
"Then your wish is my command," he said as he gave a mock-boy. "Come on, Kol," he said to the boy who was still intent on making conversation with Tanya, even though the latter was willfully ignoring him by holding a book right in front of her face. At Klaus's words, Kol got up.
"Well, so long ladies. Hope to see you again," Kol said, winking at Tanya whose only response was to show him the middle finger. Caroline let out a snort of laughter. "In due time, love," Kol promised making Tanya narrow her eyes in suspicion.
"Do tell my sister we dropped by," Klaus said, giving Caroline a long look before he exited the door with Kol trailing behind.
"And remember to lock your doors, or a big bad wolf will come and—," Kol said before bursting into a cackle. The door closed leaving behind an ominous silence.
"They're so weird," Tanya finally commented.
"They're so annoying," Caroline whined. "Where isRebekah?"
"She'll be here in a minute, I'm sure," Tanya said dismissively. "Klaus is into you."
"No, he's not!" Caroline protested, but at Tanya's raised eyebrows she relented. "Yeah, okay, he is; into me, I mean. But I am not."
Tanya gave her a look of curiosity but instead of asking, she just nodded. "I understand," she said. "Anyway, let's focus on our assignment. Now, what do you think Simone De Beauvoir meant, when she said, I don't care about Klaus's stupid hot ass hitting on me because I'm a moron?"
Caroline, who had been looking at Tanya expectantly and with a look of pure concentration, rolled her eyes when Tanya finished speaking. "You're insufferable," she said, throwing a back pillow at Tanya.
The door opened causing both of them to freeze. They should really start locking doors around here. They both were relieved to find it was none other than Rebekah. "You're back!" Caroline exclaimed; her eyes fell to Rebekah's hands which were empty. She frowned. "Did you—," she began but couldn't complete because Rebekah let out a squeal of excitement.
"I have a date!" she exclaimed and immediately plopped into the chair Kol had occupied earlier. She had a dreamy, glassy look in her eyes.
"With whom? How?" Tanya asked, looking as excited as her friend.
"With Matt."
"The jock from your college?" Tanya raised her eyebrows. Caroline frowned. Who was this Matt and why hadn't sheheard about him? At Caroline's expression, Tanya supplied. "He's blonde and blue-eyed and the definition of American jock; and he is also the person Rebekah has been low-key obsessed with since the beginning of college."
"Wait," Caroline shook her head. "But who is this guy?"
"Matt Donovan," Rebekah sighed. "He's the sweetest, dreamiest—,"
"Matt Donovan!?" Caroline exclaimed. Blond hair, blue eyes, jock, Donovan—this couldn't be...? "Matt Donovan from San Francisco?"
"Well, I don't know that." Rebekah looked displeased for having her thunder being stolen.
"I knew a Matt Donovan from when I was a kid and would go to visit my dad during the summers; he moved away from the neighborhood though and we lost touch. I wonder if this is the same..." Caroline trailed off, looking thoughtful.
"Yeah, well, whatever," Rebekah snapped, "he asked meout, outside when I ran into him on the street, so can we appreciate that for a moment?"
Caroline smiled sheepishly. "Of course, forgive me for hoping to reconnect with a childhood friend," she shot back good-naturedly, "do tell how it came to be."
"Well," Rebekah began, but stopped. Her eyes had landed on the kitchen counter where some of the extra food was still laid out on the counter. "Did—did my brothers come?"
"Yeah, they did," Tanya said with a snort. "This one and Klaus have a thing?"
"No, we do not!" Caroline sputtered, furiously. "How could you—,"
"I don't really know," Rebekah said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "She denies but I fear there might be something if she reacts so violently every time my brother is mentioned."
"I was thinking the same thing," Tanya nodded thoughtfully. Caroline stopped her protests realizing she was only furthering the girls' agenda.
"You guys are insufferable."
"Your brother is really hot," Tanya said dispassionately. Rebekah shot her a smile. "But Kol is disgusting."
"Did he hit on you?"
"Yep."
"He does that."
"I noticed." Tanya glanced at the counter. "But it was nice of them to come by to stock your kitchen. They do that often?"
Rebekah was now sporting a soft smile. "Yep," was all she said. It felt like there was more to the story, but it would be a long time before they heard it. For now, they were just happy discussing Matt Donovan and then getting back to studying.
It had been a month since she ran into Klaus, and two months into the semester. She had been spending a lot of time with Tanya and Rebekah, about which Bonnie, Elena and Stefan weren't entirely happy about, because Caroline seemed to have no time for them. They would often complain about that and while she would try to make up for it, she found she had more fun with Tanya and Rebekah, and also there was so much of studying to do! Of course, she didn't tell them about the parties and the drunk nights and days they would go on to.
"And, where were you?" Bonnie asked, when she came back to Bonnie and Elena's room. They all had decided to go to a party.
"Oh, I was with Rebekah and Tanya, studying," Caroline lied. They had just been hanging out at Rebekah's place, getting high on weed before Caroline realized how late she was.
There was a sudden silence that made Caroline nervous. She looked up to see her best friends had stopped what they were doing; almost freezing mid-air.
"Caroline, why were you with her? Aren't your classes almost over for the semester?" Elena asked seriously. As if Caroline had lost her mind or something. Bonnie was sporting the same grave expression. Uh-oh.
"I like her...," Caroline said, almost carefully. She did not want to upset her friends or get in a tiff with them. When Bonnie and Elena continued to give her an incredulous look she said again, "I think she's nice."
"She torched Stefan's car."
"Because he cheated on her," Caroline protested.
"That's not a reason to torch someone's car! There's no good enough reason to torch someone's car!"
"Oh, really? Well, what if Batman had done it after he had lost his parents? Do you think that was a good enough reason? Or what if Speed had done it?"
"Okay, really, you need to stop binge watching DC Comics shows on Netflix, and second, it's not Speed, it's Flash and THIRD," Bonnie broke off to take in a huge breath of air before continuing with her rant, "I can't believe you're trying to compare Rebekah with Batman or the Flash. I mean, she's not a superhero."
"She could be."
"Yeah, I guess she could," Bonnie said scathingly, "she's got the money and she's white."
Caroline bowed her head guiltily. "Ugh, the DC and Marvel universe is so racist. Did you hear about the whole Scarlet Johansson thing?"
"Don't try to change the topic," Bonnie said, "but seriously, is it because—," she broke off suddenly, shooting a nervous glance towards Elena. The latter seemed to have understood something for she decided to take the reins of the conversation.
"Are you seeing Klaus secretly?" Elena asked.
Caroline blinked. And then she burst out into a laugh. "Have you lost your mind? Why would I date him?"
Bonnie and Elena just shrugged in response. "We just thought you might...," Bonnie trailed off. "But I'm glad to know that's not happening."
"Yeah, not after everything you guys told me," Caroline said, her earlier smile fading into something morose now, "and I remember seeing him once myself; drunk and loud and angry and fighting with someone over something so stupid." She stared at something in the distance.
It had been at the beginning of the semester. Before Caroline had run into Klaus and after Stefan and everyone else had told her about all of the horrible things Klaus was infamous for. Because even after she had heard her friends out, she had nursed a hope that they had all misunderstood him; he couldn't be that bad. He had been the only one to show her kindness that day when everything had appeared so cold and dead.
It had been the first night out and she had decided to meet Elena, Bonnie and Stefan for drinks at the bar outside campus. That's when she had spotted Klaus. He didn't know she was there. She wanted to go up to him and say hello when she saw that not only was he drunk he wasn't in a very good mood. He was starting a brawl—or perhaps it was started by the other person—Caroline wasn't sure, but she was sure of the very real horror and fear that seeped into her when she saw Klaus's face morph into something monstrous and him pull his fist back and punch the living daylights of the other guy. She felt her breath caught in her throat; she couldn't breathe. She needed to get out.
She remembered leaving the bar, feeling shaken and scared, as she barely collapsed into a park bench outside. It had reminded her of Damon; of things she didn't need to be reminded of, did not wish to be reminded of. That's how her friends had found her that night. Crying and shaken. She hadn't told them any reason, just insisted to be taken back to her dorm.
That's what had convinced her to stay away from Klaus. Not her friends, but Klaus himself.
"Caroline," someone called her name, causing her stop. She knew who it was without turning. She was in the local bar outside campus on a double date-thing with Rebekah and Matt, and his friend Tyler. She had only just met him, but he seemed fun, exciting and new. Things were going well, and she had excused herself to go to the bathroom when she heard someone call her.
"Klaus," she said, her face softening at his smile. "What are you doing here?"
He was dressed in a dark full-sleeved shirt, holding his jacket in his hand.
"What does anyone do at a pub, love?" He flashed her a smile. "I haven't seen you in a while. You look well." He gave her an appraising look. Caroline suddenly regretted wearing the yellow thin-strapped top which left her neck bare, because she was sure a blush was creeping up. The way Klaus looked at her was...she had felt her stomach clench.
"Thanks," she said, almost begrudgingly. "You look okay, too, I guess," she said dismissively, making Klaus laugh. "Are you here with Kol?"
Klaus shrugged. "No, but he will be here soon." Caroline wondered secretly if he were also on a date. He didn't look like he'd have trouble with the ladies. But to think of it, she hadn't really seen Klaus with a woman. Hm. She tried not to preen. She did have that effect on people, didn't she? "How are your classes going?" Klaus asked before she could leave. Caroline shot him an indecipherable look. She didn't understand his curiosity about her life, about stupid things like her classes. Nobody asked her how her classes went; hell, she never asked how someone's classes went. But Klaus here looked genuinely interested.
"They're fine," she allowed herself to say. "How are your classes going? I haven't been hearing good things about you around the campus." Last week she had heard a rumor that someone in the Art History department had gotten into an (almost?) physical fight with one of the professors. Although nobody named him, everyone knew it was Klaus.
Klaus seemed unabashed. "I see someone's been keeping tabs on me."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "You wish." She regarded him critically. "Why do you need to do these things? Why can't you just be normal?" She groaned aloud.
"You know I'd never hurt you." He looked serious. Caroline looked away, uncomfortable. She didn't like the fact that he knew that the problem was she was scared of him. She remembered him from when he had gotten into that fight in the bar. He had scared her so much. He didn't know she had seen him like that. She couldn't forget the look of reckless violence and rage on his face that day. It made her shudder. "Caroline," he said softly. Her head snapped up to look at him; he seemed apologetic and concerned.
"I should go," she said quietly. Klaus nodded.
"Is that Rebekah I spot there?" he said, glancing behind her. She saw Rebekah and Matt were still engrossed in a deep conversation, like they were before she had left them. They had been dating for a month now and things seemed to be going good except for a few stray fights. She saw Klaus's face darken when he spotted Matt next to her. "Ah, I see the jock is there too."
Caroline frowned. "Matt's a good guy," she said defensively. Klaus raised an eyebrow but did not comment.
"And who is that other charming fellow who can't seem to take his eyes off of us?" Klaus asked, almost wickedly. Gosh, he was so dramatic! But nevertheless, Caroline's eyes wandered to where Tyler was sitting in the booth, talking to Matt and Rebekah, while his eyes kept glancing back to look at Caroline. She gave him a nervous reassuring smile before turning back to look at Klaus. The earlier discomfort and heaviness between them had disappeared now. She had to almost bite her lip to stop the smug smile spreading on her face as she said the following words.
"That's my date, actually."
Klaus's smirk turned into a forced tight smile. "Ah, is he now?" he asked, his jaw clenching.
"Yup," Caroline said, popping the 'p' really hard, before turning to shoot a smile at Tyler again. He seemed to relax in his seat because he went back to the conversation with Matt.
"Well, I wish you a very pleasant evening," Klaus said evenly.
"Thank you, you too," Caroline said, fake sweetly. "I hope Kol isn't too late. I don't really want you to be all alone."
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm sure I can find ways to occupy myself," he let his eyes roam around the bar with a predatory look in his face; Caroline followed his gaze and found a couple of women in the bar looking interested and throwing curious looks their way. Ugh, he wasn't that good looking. They were clearly drunk. Her annoyance must have shown because of what Klaus chose to say next.
"I'm not the jealous sort, love," Klaus winked at her. "But something tells me, you are." Caroline barely managed to fix her expression; she felt it very unfair to be caught off guard and judged so harshly. She was not jealous. She didn't even care.
She rolled her eyes, but Klaus didn't see it because he had already turned his back to her, making his way across the bar to some silly—okay, very attractive—woman. Caroline suppressed an annoyed groan as she made her way back to the table. Her friends and Tyler looked at her expectantly. She did take a lot of time.
"Who were you talking with, back there?" Tyler asked, not looking entirely happy. Caroline tried not to frown at that.
"Was that Nik you were speaking to?" Rebekah asked. Tyler shot her an annoyed look which Caroline did not miss.
"Um," she said, as she sat down next to Tyler, already a little uncomfortable, "yes, it was Nik. It's Rebekah's brother." She said the latter part turning to Tyler who relaxed a little. Matt, on the other hand, did not look pleased.
"Klaus," he muttered. Caroline raised an eyebrow. What had Klaus done to Matt? She had been so glad to run into Matt and realizing that it was indeed the Matt she knew as a kid. He was still the pure-hearted person she knew as a child. She wondered what beef he had with Klaus. But then, most people had a beef with Klaus.
"What's wrong?" Caroline asked. Rebekah only shrugged, as if she was already privy to all the details and did not care. When Caroline gave her a continuous look of questioning, she relented and said, "Nik got into a fight with one of Matt's players."
"Why?" Caroline asked at the same time Tyler said, "wait, it's him? He's the one who beat up Ray?"
Matt nodded, while Tyler's frown got deeper. "What was the fight about?" she asked.
Rebekah shrugged, her face darkening. She didn't like talking about her brothers or their fights. Perhaps it felt like she was betraying them. "I don't know, why don't I call him over so we can all find out?" she snapped, probably annoyed that everyone was hounding her for answers/dirt on her brothers. Matt rubbed her arm soothingly.
"Never mind," he said gently. "Let's talk about something else, yeah?"
Caroline nodded eagerly, though she was very curious about the fight. What did the Mikaelsons brothers keep getting into fights for? Nobody knew; and the people who did, were always so tight lipped about it.
"Why have you been avoiding us?" Caroline asked, crossing her arms across her chest, defensively. She was sitting in her dorm room with Tanya sitting across from her on her bed. It had been weeks since she had spoken to Tanya or even saw her, seeing as the latter would always come late at night and leave before Caroline could wake up.
Caroline wondered what had gone wrong; had she said something bad? Why was it that all of her friends always left her? All sorts of thoughts were driving her crazy. It was only when she spoke with Rebekah that she realized that Tanya had been avoiding her too. So, Caroline had taken it upon herself to stay up till Tanya came home—she came around 3am—to have this conversation. It was late, and both of them were tired but it was a conversation to be had.
"I have not—," Tanya began but Caroline quickly cut her off with a quick, "oh, cut the bullshit. And just come on out with it." She could feel her throat close up and tears sting her eyes. She hated fights or awkward situations with friends. She couldn't take being in such situations anymore. Why weren't people simple and easy? Why did they all need to push her away?
"Caroline," Tanya said quietly, "you're—you're insensitive to race a lot of times too."
Caroline's eyes widened with embarrassment. Tanya looked apologetic and embarrassed too. "But I—," she began but stopped when Tanya shook her head.
"Just—just hear me out. I know you try your best but it's—it's not enough. That day at Rebekah's house when we first ran into her brothers...the way her brother Kol behaved with me. That was racist, Caroline. And it just bothered me how it didn't bother you. And then, you keep complaining about Klaus getting away with violence because he's rich, but that's not all he is, Caroline. He's also white. With increasing gun violence against black people—against black childrenand how much leeway Klaus gets, how do you not realize this? I want to see Klaus's ass in jail at least once; and his brother's. But they always get away." Tanya shrugged, staring at her hands in her lap. "Do you think someone brown or black would? Do you think I would?" She pursed her lips, refusing to look at Caroline.
Caroline, who had been listening to her friend with growing dread, could feel her face was on fire. She was so embarrassed. "Tanya, I'm sorry, I—I sometimes don't realize things. And that's my fault, my white privilege but I do appreciate you telling me things. I'm sorry for the Kol thing, and I agree you about Klaus. I just—I never saw it. I never realized...it was connected to race." She felt her voice crack. She didn't think she was that bad, or that she was ignorant. It was painful to admit to herself, to her friend, that she wasn't all that perfect or knowledgeable. "But I would really be grateful to you if you could always tell me when I go wrong. I promise to always be receptive and try and grow." She thought these were the right words to say but apparently not because Tanya looked like she was Done. Pursing her lips and a small frown on her face, Tanya said, "Caroline, you don't want to be Klaus savior, and I don't want to be yours. I am not your racial sensitivity teacher."
Caroline felt wronged. Why was Tanya dragging in Klaus? That was mean. "Well, I don't know what to do here, where to go and how to learn?"
"Your burden of learning doesn't fall on me, Caroline. You need to find your own answers." Caroline was about to say something more, to argue, to defend herself, but she stopped when Tanya got up suddenly. "I'll leave you to think about things before this gets any more serious and either of us says things we might regret."
Caroline didn't say anything or stop her when her friend left. She just kept staring at her hands. Great. Now things were awkward with her roommate. How the hell was she to get out of this one? She hated herself for the cold calculative thoughts that had just pervaded her mind, but she couldn't help it—no, she could, she told herself. She had to train herself to be more kind, compassionate, and more present. She sighed. It was an exhausting day and the conversation did not make things easier. She lay down on her bed already missing her friend.
The semester is almost ending, and Caroline is on edge; she has assignments and exams to tend to; not to mention the fact that Lexi will be visiting the following weekend and Caroline wants to be able to keep her company too. She calls Lexi to make sure she got her schedule correct.
"Hey," Caroline says, "you free to talk?"
"Yeah, what's up?" Caroline can hear the sleep in her voice. Had she just woken up? It was almost 1 in the afternoon!
"Were you sleeping? Gosh, Lexi!" Caroline said in an admonishing tone.
"I know, I know," Lexi muttered. "I'm excited to see you. I hope it's a bit of a less drama than last time."
"Oh yeah," Caroline said trying not to feel hurt or annoyed that Lexi referred to the events that unfolded at Stefan's birthday party as 'drama'. "I'm sorry for my meltdown," she said sarcastically.
"Oh, no, no, no," Lexi said immediately, "that's not what I was talking about. I meant about when Klaus beat Damon up." Lexi yawned loudly into the phone. Caroline didn't even flinch. In fact, she could swear she felt the world stop for a minute; her mind had blanked out.
"What?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light. Lexi seemed to have not picked up on her mood, probably because she had just woken up, for which Caroline was suddenly grateful, because she was more than willing to spill the beans.
"Yeah, Klaus beat Damon's ass up, didn't you know?" Lexi said. She seemed to be outside for Caroline could hear the honking of cars and people randomly shouting or calling out to each other. She let Lexi's words sink in.
Caroline licked her lips slowly, surprised. "No, I didn't—I didn't know that. When was this?"
"This was on Stefan's birthday."
"Oh, well, I didn't know." A pause. "No one...no one told me," Caroline said disbelief coloring her. Why the hell didn't anybody tell her? How did they think it was okay to not tell her about this?
There was silence on the other end of the line, save for the noise of the street. "Oh, I didn't know that...You know what? Forget I said anything!" Lexi said. She seemed to be panicking. Of course. Stefan and the rest of the Mystic Falls gang seemed to have forgotten her that this was going to be kept a secret from Caroline. And now that the jig was up and was let out by none other than Lexi, she was panicking about the backlash she might face.
"Okay...," Caroline said slowly. She looked at her watch. It was seven in the evening on a Tuesday; she wondered where Klaus would be at this point. "I'll—I'll call you back." She had half a mind to hunt him down and ask him what the hell he thought he was doing; but the other half of her mind protested against taking any big measures. So, she decided seeking Rebekah out was the best option.
It was a surprise—or was it? —that when she went to Rebekah's flat, she found Klaus sitting in the living room, with his sketch book in his lap, drawing something with great concentration. Rebekah seemed to be found nowhere. She wasn't responding to texts, either.
"Caroline," Klaus said, smiling, before going back to his work. Caroline—who had been prepared with a series of vitriol—suddenly felt all the words die in her throat. He looked so warm and kind, so at peace; Caroline was reminded of the first time she had met him and felt a pang of tenderness in her heart.
"How did you know?" She asked, quietly. Klaus didn't look up from where he was busily sketching something.
"Know what?" he asked.
"About Damon."
His hand paused for a second before it resumed its previous motions; the scratching sound on the paper returning. Caroline wondered if he really was that calm and collected as he seemed right now.
"I don't know what you mean, love."
Caroline huffed. Really? He wanted to play this game, now? "Okay, then, answer this: you beat him up. Why?" Caroline asked, walking to stand in front of him.
"For my personal enjoyment," Klaus said easily.
"Liar," Caroline said. Klaus shrugged, continuing with his sketching. Caroline tried to take a peek at his drawing, but it remained hidden from view.
"You didn't need to do it for me, you know. I'm not some damsel in distress you need to rescue," Caroline's voice increased in decibel without her realizing. She had been really frustrated about this, more than she had initially realized. Klaus's hand stopped and Caroline was relieved to get a reaction out of him. He finally looked up at her.
"I didn't," he said, his expression grave. "I didn't do it because I thought you were a damsel in distress. I did it because you were—are—a friend."
"You only knew me for a day!" Caroline protested.
"Yes," he admitted, "but I knew your—," he broke off suddenly causing Caroline to frown. What did he know about her? Had he already known about her and Damon from before? Had he been pretending to be oblivious about it during their first meeting just for kicks?
"You knew what? You knew about Damon and me?" Caroline demanded.
"No," Klaus said forcefully, "I knew your—," he paused, and then, as if with great difficulty, he said, "—your pain. It wasn't new to me."
A second passed by. And another. And another. Caroline stared at him. Knew her pain? That was the cheesiest and most stupid thing she had ever heard in her life.
"What do you even meanby that?" She exclaimed, annoyed.
"I mean," Klaus said, finally putting his notepad away with a sigh, "I was you when I was younger. I saw...I had the same thing with my...stepfather. He wasn't very kind to me. And I was helpless. But now I am not." His eyes burned into Caroline's, forcing her to look away. She felt tired again. She took a seat next to him on the sofa.
"I...," Caroline began but stopped. "I didn't know you had a difficult childhood."
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Caroline," Klaus said bitterly. "If you weren't always so convinced you loathed me and chose every opportunity to accuse me of one thing or another, then you may have noticed I am a very different person from the one you make up in your head."
Caroline gave him a look of disbelief and then anger. "Oh, shut up! I gave you plenty of chances. If you didn't take it upon you to make my business yours, or go around acting like a tyrant, beating up people—,"
"Do you even have anything new to taunt me with, or is it going to be the same old things?" Klaus roared, slamming his sketchbook on the floor, standing up. Caroline mimicked him.
"Why don't you tell me? You seem to be stuck in your petty old ways, like an attention seeking child so intent on destroying things when he doesn't get his way—,"
"Ha! Now she calls me a child! And what are you? For someone with claims on maturity you seem pretty susceptible to your friends' manipulations. Do tell me how much you think for yourself and how much you allow your friends to do the thinking for!"
"I am notgullible! I make my own decisions and that must really piss you off. To know that I don't like you just because I don't like you! And not because of my friends," Caroline huffed; she could feel her face was hot from all the shouting and the anger that was still roaring under her skin.
"This doesn't seem like not liking me, love. Following me around, texting me, looking out for me, asking about me to Rebekah," Klaus taunted her, an evil smirk curving his lips. His voice dropped a decibel when he said, "I think someone's obsessed with me."
Caroline felt her cheeks heat up even more. "I'm obsessed with you?" She let out a bark of laughter. "Are you insane? Stop projecting your fears and desires onto me. We both know you're obsessed with me! You wishI was obsessed; you wish I cared! But I don't! I really don't care! And that hurts you!"
Her words were meant to rile Klaus up further, to destroy him, to hurt him, but he only gave her a knowing look. "I'm sure that's what you tell yourself every day." He picked up the sketchbook he had thrown on the floor and sat down on the sofa again. "But it isn't working, love. And it sure as hell isn't fooling anyone." He said the words as if he were merely stating the most mundane of facts. That pissed the hell out of Caroline, but she knew their argument had reached its peak. She had nothing to say so she chose to storm out in an acceptable fashion, banging the door as loudly as she could.