Present
"Well, hello there," Klaus said, as his door swung open to find a disheveled Caroline standing in front of him. She looked tired.
"I called you on your phone," she said. "You didn't answer." Klaus raised an eyebrow. Was this an explanation of sorts for what she was doing at his place in the middle of the night? After that night she had spent with him—sleeping—she had sneaked out before he had woken up. He thought he would see less of her and had almost resigned himself to that fact but here she was. At his door.
"Ah, my phone is in the other room," he offered, letting her in. She ignored his remark as she walked in, threw her bag on the couch, before she made a beeline to Klaus's room and flopped down on his bed.
"I had a long day," she announced, as if to no one in particular. Klaus leaned against the door, regarding her. She did look very exhausted with shadows underneath her eyes, her hair disheveled.
"And how am I to be of help to you?" he asked, amused.
"I don't know," she said, taking one of his pillows and snuggling against it. She gave him a serious look which made his heart clench. He cleared his throat, trying to maintain composure. He didn't want her to know how much she affected him.
"I'm actually surprised to see you here," Klaus remarked as he sat on the bed, "after running out on me that morning—," when Caroline tried to protest, he waved her off, "I assumed you wouldn't wish to see me again."
"I didn't mean to run out...," she said in a small voice, closing her eyes. "I was figuring out things." Klaus reached out and carefully brushed some of her hair off her face.
"And what did you figure out?"
"Not a lot," she admitted. Klaus's eyes bored into Caroline's. "I want to be here," she said, as if to herself before moving back to make space for him. Klaus smiled as he lay down beside her.
"Well, I shall not be one to force you out of here," he said as he took her hand and pressed her fingers against his mouth. She was so soft. He felt Caroline watching him carefully; and a finger against her pulse let him know her heart had started beating faster. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop him from smirking. He affected her as much she affected him. "How was your day?" he asked.
Caroline closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "It was...," she searched for a word, trying not to think of everything that happened, "exhausting."
"And you hoped I could alleviate some of your stress?" he smirked.
"Yes, I did," Caroline said.
"Then I shall not disappoint," Klaus said as he sat up, towering over her.
Klaus dragged her by her ankles and let out a breath. Caroline felt her mouth go dry and her stomach churn with anticipation. She didn't like being looked at like this, but she also really liked it; she was waiting for when the music would stop, and Klaus would snap out of whatever it was he felt for her. His feelings for her were never a secret, and thus made Caroline more nervous. Would he feel differently now that they would have sex? Were the rose-tinted glasses going to come off and Klaus was going to look at her like she bored him, like she wasn't the most interesting person he had ever met? She enjoyed the way he looked at her now, but it also made her nervous because it made her think of when it would end. She looked away from him, feeling a stab of sadness overcome her. Tyler had looked at her like that initially before it faded; hell, it faded for her too. And with others before, it always faded. When was it going to fade with them?
"Everything alright, love?" Caroline heard Klaus ask. Her head snapped back to him and let a lazy smile overcome her face. Might as well enjoy things while they last.
"Yes," she beamed, hooking her legs around his waist pulling him over herself.
"I hate talking during sex," she said, in a matter-of-fact way. Klaus gave her a funny look before he chuckled. Tyler used to talk during sex a lot. She hated it, but she didn't know how to tell him. It wasn't even dirty talk. It was more of...how his day went and him asking how her day went; in hindsight, one might say it was sweet, but Caroline really did not enjoy it. She preferred Klaus knew it now than later.
"Noted," he said as he slid his arms along her legs to cup her bum and pulling her flush against him. "Any other requests?"
"None I can think of at the moment," Caroline breathed out as she caught his face in her hands and kissed him fully on the lips. She felt her body shiver with excitement. She had been waiting so long for this.
She kissed Klaus languorously and felt him kiss her back with equal enthusiasm and languor. She felt nervous; there was something each wanted to prove to the other, and she worried if the expectations would not be too much for either of them to match up to. She felt her thoughts short-circuit when Klaus's hands lazily slid across her jeans and pull them down her legs—when had he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans?—before discarding them at the foot of the bed. Caroline's breath hitched when Klaus—ugh, why did he need to do that, it was too much—looked at her before sliding his fingers along the length of her leg and stopped at her knickers. Caroline felt mad with lust. She didn't like this slow bullshit. She needed him now, hard and fast. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
She pulled his face up to meet hers' and with another hand, took off her panties to throw them across the room. She could feel the rumble of laughter go through Klaus at her impatience. "What are you laughing about?" she growled.
"I would tell you, but you hate talking during sex, so," he kissed her jaw and neck, but Caroline pushed him away.
"Tickles too much," she explained. Klaus raised his eyebrows but did not protest; he instead ran a finger along her neck and watched as she shivered. He lowered his mouth to her chest, where it was still covered with her shirt and bit her left breast through it. Caroline let out a gasp of shock at that, a giggle escaping her throat. Klaus slipped a hand underneath her shirt to press her against himself as he captured her lips in another kiss. His hands roamed all along her back, unhooking her bra in the process, and helping her out of her shirt. They broke apart to let Caroline shrug her shirt off. Klaus pulled away from Caroline's arms which had stretched out for him, to take a moment to look at her. Caroline felt self-conscious suddenly but tried to hold her ground.
"Caroline," Klaus said solemnly, almost, "you're lovely."
Caroline rolled her eyes but let a smile sneak onto her face. "Shut up and take off your clothes," she said. Klaus grinned as he took his shirt off. She saw all of the necklaces hanging off of his neck, hidden from view most of the time, and the tattoos along his ribs and chest and collarbone. She reached out a finger to trace everything but felt herself lost to lust when Klaus slipped a hand along her thigh to her clitoris and rub it. She took hold of Klaus's face again and kissed him roughly. Exploration could wait, she thought to herself, there were things to be done before that. Klaus's fingers rub her relentlessly and she loses herself into the feeling. Her tongue tracing Klaus's lips, his mouth, inside of his mouth; a whine escaped her as Klaus pulled away from her. He didn't deign to answer her as his mouth traced her neck—it's ticklish!—before quickly moving on to her chest but Caroline pushed his face away.
"No," she said, offering no other explanation. She felt Klaus's eyes burn with curiosity but was glad when he didn't say anything before going further.
Caroline's insides clenched with anticipation for what was to come next. She felt Klaus's arms come up to her thighs to spread to her legs apart. A pause. And then she felt a jolt run through her as she felt Klaus's tongue on her clitoris—she was really happy he had been able to find out. With other sexual partners, sometimes they would struggle, and it would lead to some very awkward back-seat driving kind of situation.
As Klaus continued to work his mouth into her, she reached out to run her fingers through his curls. She felt the heat from his mouth drive her mad with need, her body arched as a jolt of pleasure ran through her. His mouth, and teeth, latched onto her clitoris and—suck—Caroline felt stars explode behind her eyes from the combination of pain and pleasure. Klaus eased his hold on her clitoris and Caroline felt him insert a finger inside of her and she wanted to tell him penetration wasn't very arousing for her, and neither did it help her orgasm, but she let him please her in whatever way possible. She didn't entirely hate it; it was an experience on its own. Klaus's fingers inside of her.
Those long spidery things—and of course, though she had always been averse to spiders, she had been mesmerized by his long fingers, at length, pun intended. They had often caught her imagination; waving down someone, sketching, reaching to touch her, just holding something. They were always so long and beautiful. And now they were inside of her, touching her, pleasuring her. She could feel her body hum happily.
Another jolt of pleasure went through her. It was taking too much time to make her come. Was he tired? Did he want to stuff? Caroline would always be troubled with these thoughts and she would usually stop her partners in the middle. And thus, not breaking with tradition, Caroline reached out to grab Klaus to pull him up, but he stayed down, ignoring her. Caroline raised her eyebrows, low-key impressed. Well, if he wanted to feast, she would not stop him. After a minute or two, Caroline could finally feel the pressure build up within her and she felt her body arch as the orgasm washed over her. She felt Klaus lazily kiss her vagina, her clitoris as she rode out her orgasm. She watched with hooded eyes as Klaus watched her with a smile. She reached her arms out to pull him into a kiss. He kissed her roughly, causing Caroline to tremble with want again.
Caroline watched him as he pulled away to reach into the small cupboard next to the bed and pull out a condom. Caroline found herself sitting up to kiss him again, even as Klaus pulled the condom down on his penis. When he was done, he took Caroline's face in between his hands—causing Caroline's heart to stop beating for a second, almost—and look at her, really look; not in a I-will-fuck-you-good kind of way, but more like a—like a—like something Caroline couldn't understand or comprehend or verbalize, just feel. She suddenly felt full with...feeling. When Klaus crushed his lips to hers, she let her mind give into the desire again.
When Klaus pushed into her slowly she let out a gasp and clenched her eyes shut. She could feel Klaus's breath on her shoulder where he buried her face; she put her arms around him and scraped her nails across his back. She immediately feels his body shiver and Klaus soon picks up his pace. Caroline pushes back, meeting him, beat for beat. Although she knows she will not come from penetration, (she hasn't come through penetration ever) she wants to be there for him; make this enjoyable for him. She liked the closeness of penetrative sex, of feeling his body inside of her. She felt so close to Klaus; they were separate but one at the same moment. When she feels him shudder against her, she holds him close. She missed the closeness of a person and held him close to her, tighter.
When Klaus is spent, he pulls away from her but not before smacking sloppy kisses along her face and neck, making her giggle. He pulls her close to himself and she is surprised by how cuddly he is. She was used to not reaching out to her partners or holding them; but this was different. Klaus was different. His body presses against hers and she pulls a sheet over them. Her last thoughts, before sleep overtakes her, is that she hopes Klaus doesn't ask about not doing boob stuff. She doesn't like it. She doesn't like the feeling. If he asked, she'd tell him so; tell him she hadn't liked it for a long time, and she didn't want to talk about it. And shrug like it's no big deal. She didn't want to tell him what it was about; when it began. She didn't want to get into it now or ever.
Caroline liked the casual brushes of tenderness, the warmth always spreading through her body when Klaus would casually reach for her or drop her a distracted smile when he would be busy with something else. More often than not he would cook for her; let her eat off of his plate, and even do her laundry sometimes when she was feeling too tired or overworked. Turns out he did Rebekah's laundry too for the most part. Who knew? Who knew Klaus was this sweet and tender and ... warm?
"You're making me fat," Caroline said, taking an enormous bite of the cheesy lasagna. They were sitting on the couch, with Caroline lying down with her ankles in Klaus's lap. She was eating the lasagna he had cooked for her while he sat reading a book.
At Caroline's words, Klaus looked up from his book and gave her a distracted smile. He reached out to brush something off of the corner of her mouth with his thumb and put it in his own mouth. Caroline looked away, her stomach clenching. She hated it when he was so... it was difficult to stop herself from feeling things for him. Caroline was afraid of getting hurt. She didn't want to love Klaus. She was scared he would fall of out lo—whatever it was that he felt for her, and then...then she would be heartbroken and alone. She didn't like that idea, so she always reigned her feelings in; put them on a tight leash.
"You're fine," she heard him say dismissively. He rubbed her ankles soothingly before going back to his book.
"Klaus," she said, putting the plate of lasagna down on the floor, and pressing her foot into his chest.
"Hmm?" he asked, not looking away from his book. What was the stupid book anyway? Why was it more interesting than her? Caroline felt herself nudge Klaus's face with her toe, from where it was buried into the book. He finally deigned to look at her.
"Yes, love?"
"What are you doing?"
He gave her an exasperated look. "I am reading a book."
"I don't want you to read the book."
He raised an eyebrow, amused. "What do you wish I do?"
"Give me your attention."
He chuckled. "Alright, then," he put his book on the coffee table in front of them, before turning to her, "you have my attention. What do you want to do?"
Caroline thought for a moment. "Do you believe in ghosts?" she asked. Klaus chuckled.
"Really? That's what you want to talk about?"
"Yes," Caroline said, looking very serious. "Oh my god, did you see that the government admitted that UFO video from 2015 was ACTUALLY a UFO? So that means there are aliens!?"
"So now we're on aliens?"
"Klaus!" Caroline whined. "I need you to be serious."
"I am serious, love. Are we speaking about ghosts or aliens, I'm confused?"
"Aliens. We're talking about aliens right now."
"Hmm," he hummed, as he crawled up her body, causing her smile as she opened her legs for him to settle between them. "I think everything is possible; ghosts, aliens, vampires, werewolves, what have you." Caroline beamed at him widely. Her eyes closed in pleasure as Klaus kissed her jaw and breasts. He slid his hands inside her shirt to pull her up against him. "I think there's magic in the world; and it is so much bigger and beautiful than all of us." Caroline opened her eyes, feeling Klaus's words wash over her. She felt a sense of calm overtake her.
"Tell me about your tattoos," she said, as she pulled his shirt over his head. Klaus shook his head.
"Not today," he said. When Caroline pouted at his answer, Klaus covered her lips with his' and soon they were lost in each other's bodies.
Caroline had decided it was time to tell Elena and Bonnie about Klaus. They had been seeing each other for two months and her friends were getting suspicious. But first, Caroline started with Bonnie, who was surprisingly very calm and unsurprised about the whole thing. "It was going to happen one day," she said almost cryptically. "I mean, I would see the way you both would look at each other." Caroline had frowned at her friends' comment but hadn't said anything. Had she liked Klaus before she herself had realized it? Had her feelings for Klaus been so apparent to everyone but herself?
She had told herself she would think about these questions at a later time; for now, she wanted Klaus and Bonnie to get to know each other better. She needed a friend on her side when she broke the news to Elena and Stefan. She knew they would be furious.
Caroline decided that the best way for Bonnie and Klaus to bond would be with alcohol: meaning, a party. A friend of a friend was having a party for something at their house and Caroline saw it the perfect occasion to have her boyfriend—she still cringed at the word—and friend to bond. But things weren't going very well, because when Bonnie and Caroline arrived, they saw Klaus was speaking to another girl and apparently that meant a lot of bad things to Bonnie.
"Are you guys together?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because you're here and he's there."
Caroline glanced at Klaus, who was talking to girl, and laughing with her. It was normal. This was normal behavior. Your boyfriend was allowed to talk and laugh with another girl at a party. Caroline didn't think it was necessary for them to be joined at the hip just because they were dating. But she felt insecurity stir in her stomach and a frown work its way to her face. She licked her lips nervously.
"Yes, but I don't think it's important for us to be together all the time," she said, her voice small, sounding lame even to herself. Bonnie gave her a critical look.
"Your boyfriend is ten feet away from you flirting with another girl."
"No, he isn't flirting!" Caroline protested. "He's just talking. Surely, he's allowed to!"
Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "That's not what it looks like." Caroline saw as her friend's frown deepened. She followed Bonnie's line of sight and saw the girl was touching Klaus's arm and he looked okay with it honestly. Caroline turned away, unable to take it anymore. It wasn't a big deal. It really wasn't.
Just because they were dating didn't mean that they had to be together every second, and if he wanted to talk to people and maybe flirt, that was also okay. Caroline flirted all the time with everyone—to get her way, or sometimes just for fun. It wasn't something serious. But having her friend here judging every move Klaus and she made, made it worse; made her think it was wrong.
Caroline didn't want to, but doubt crept into her. What if it wasn't harmless flirting? What if Klaus really wanted that girl? What if he wanted to sleep with her? Was he over Caroline already? Did he not know Bonnie was going to be here, so the why the hell was he acting like that? Why couldn't he be the doting obsessive boyfriend for two minutes?
Feeling Bonnie's eyes bore into her back, Caroline felt she needed to do something. Before she realized, she was stomping her way to Klaus. He seemed to have sensed someone approaching, for he looked away from the girl—the stupid, moronic girl—to see who it was His face softened and a sweet smile stretched his lips as he extended an arm out as he saw it was Caroline. Caroline felt all of her doubts dissipate, her insecurities wither away, as Klaus wound an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against himself.
"This is Caroline," he said, turning to the girl with whom he had been speaking to all the while. The tall raven-haired girl looked at Caroline brightly and gave her a kind smile. "When did you get here?"
"Oh, a minute ago," Caroline said before turning to the girl expectantly.
"Hi, I'm Claire," the girl introduced herself. "Klaus was just telling me about you." When Caroline raised an eyebrow, the girl hastily explained, "I'm writing a paper on abjection in the post-capitalist feminist literature and Klaus suggested I speak with you, seeing as you took Professor Rowena's class."
"Ah," Caroline said, after a moment of gathering her thoughts. "Well, that sounds like an interesting paper." Okay, the girl wasn't a moron at all. And the way she was smiling at Caroline without a hint of irony or malice also convinced her that she was in fact a good person. Caroline felt a little guilty for judging the girl too harshly. Her sour mood lightened but she was in no mood to play teacher to this girl at the moment.
"I would love to help in any way I can. But tonight, I'm really planning on getting sloshed so," Caroline took out her phone, "I don't think I'd be much help tonight. But I'd love to meet up for a coffee or something?" She could feel Klaus's gaze on her; although she had said the words with a cheerful candor, there was an undertone of iciness she was sure he had picked up on. Good. His hand on her waist tightened. Caroline watched as Claire's smile lost its earlier brightness, but she nodded politely and readily exchanged her contact information with the former.
"I guess I'll see you around," Caroline said, forcing a smile, a tone of finality to her voice, leaving Claire no choice but to bid them goodbye and leave. And that's how it's done, ladies, Caroline thought to herself smugly. When she turned to Klaus however, her expression dimmed. He was frowning.
"What was that about?" he asked, removing his hand from her waist.
"What?" Caroline blinked, trying to look innocent. It didn't work, for Klaus gave her an exasperated look.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, love. You were harsh with her."
"Says the guy who goes around beating people," Caroline scoffed, crossing her arms underneath her breast in a way to distract Klaus. While his gaze did flicker to her chest, he otherwise looked unimpressed.
"I see you're feeling nostalgic, seeing as you have resorted to your old insults," he said bitingly; his face had lost all of its earlier softness. "Anything else you would like to add?"
Caroline looked away, her gaze unintentionally landing on Bonnie, who had been watching her—and Klaus—all this while. She looked away quickly, not wanting Klaus to see Bonnie. They were hardly on speaking terms. This would do no good, she thought. Because she knew Klaus would know why she was acting this way. But alas, her hopes were in vain for Klaus had immediately caught onto the change in her expression.
"Why are we even fighting over someone we don't know?" Caroline reasoned, suddenly finding herself at a loss for a better comeback. A cruel smirk twisted his face making Caroline almost flinch.
"I think we're fighting over someone else entirely," Klaus said, jerking head in the direction where Caroline knew Bonnie was standing. Klaus didn't look away from Caroline's face, while the latter's eyes slowly dragged along the floor. "Did your friend Bonnie goad you into this?"
She felt like a child being admonished and hated it. "She didn't do anything. You were flirting with that girl. I saw you." She looked at Klaus again, who again, looked unabashed,
"I was merely having a conversation. But I forgot," he paused as if for effect—Caroline rolled her eyes—before he said, with a smirk, "you're the jealous type."
Caroline scoffed. "I am not," she protested.
"So, you agree it was your friend whose comments, no doubt, made you act the way you did?"
"Really? We're going to talk about how I act in public. Compared to your track record?"
"Touché," Klaus said. "So, what did your friend Bonnie say?" he said, bringing the conversation back to the original topic. Ugh, he was unrelenting. Of course, he was. He was Klaus. "That I'm going to cheat on you because I was laughing with a girl?"
"Flirting," Caroline corrected.
"Oh, come off it, already. We both know you flirt with the entire world," Klaus said, looking frustrated. Caroline frowned. She didn't know he knew that.
"So, you do admit you were flirting," she said, feeling delighted that she now had the upper hand. But also feeling really shitty. This was supposed to be a fun party with her and Klaus and all of her friends. But here she was—ten minutes into the party—and already fighting with Klaus, and kind of really hating Bonnie for having gotten into her head. The realization that Bonnie got into her head struck her hard. Of course.
It wasn't new news, but it still felt very jarring now that she turned it in her head. What was she doing? Fighting with Klaus over something Bonnie said because Bonnie knew Klaus? She didn't even know Klaus's name was Niklaus. More importantly, she didn't know about the relationship between Klaus and Caroline. She had no right coming in here, judging Caroline, Klaus and their relationship. So, what if both of them were a little flirty? And, so what if it didn't meet Bonnie's approval? To hell with her. But why the hell was Caroline fighting with Klaus here?
Caroline looked at Klaus who was glaring at her.
"Everything is going fine until one of your old friends shows up. Is this how it is always going to be?" Klaus asked, bitterly.
"I'm sorry," Caroline said, despite herself. She saw Klaus's face change at her apology. "I won't—I'll try not to let her—them—get into my head again. I'm sorry." She took Klaus's hand and put it against her waist again, where it lay only minutes ago. She stepped closer to him to look up at him. "I'll try," she said, as she reached onto her tip toes to press her mouth lightly against Klaus's. The latter remained unmoved, except for the arm around Caroline's waist which remained firmly in its place.
"Let's go say hi to your friend," Klaus said, his face devoid of any emotion, but at least his voice did not have its earlier bitterness, so Caroline took it as win. She looked at him warily though, at his suggestion. He really wanted to go see Bonnie right now...? But Klaus did not wait for her to response for he was already making his way to Bonnie.
"Hello Bonnie," Caroline heard him say politely as she trailed after him. She saw Bonnie gave him a polite but cold smile.
"Hi Klaus. How have you been?"
"Good, thank you. And you?"
Caroline felt nauseated at the cold polite conversation taking place between them. But hey, it was progress from no conversation. Why did she think this would work again? Because it was a party with alcohol. The party was here, but where was the alcohol? Caroline's eyes roamed the living room which was thrumming with dancing people until they landed on the bar.
"Why don't you guys wait here till I get alcohol?"
"Allow me," Klaus said, looking eager to get away. "What do you want?" he asked both the girls.
"I'm okay with a beer," Bonnie said. Caroline nodded, "Same for me."
Klaus nodded before making his way through the crowd to get them the drinks they needed. "Okay, now you guys looked like a couple," Bonnie said, causing a spark of irritation in Caroline. But the latter didn't say anything, choosing to remain quiet. She didn't want to fight with her friend. She spotted Tanya coming in and waved her in. Caroline felt a wave of relief wash over her.
"Tanya!" she squealed as she hugged her best friend. "I'm so glad you're here," she whispered into her best friend's ear. Tanya squeezed her back but gave her a look of concern. Tanya didn't say anything though, especially once she spotted Bonnie behind Caroline.
"Hi," Tanya greeted Bonnie politely, who returned the greeting. Caroline mused at the coldness between the two; as soon as Klaus was back, Caroline felt her shoulders slump with relief. Great, the coldness between her two friends had begun to feel unbearable. As soon as Klaus spotted Tanya, she could see relief overcome him. Caroline almost snorted.
"Tanya!" he exclaimed, happy. Tanya's eyes also brightened up. "Klaus!" she said, as she wound her arms around Klaus in greeting. Caroline saw her boyfriend reach over to hand Bonnie and Caroline their drinks before winding an arm around Tanya. Caroline felt her heart warm. Why couldn't Bonnie and Klaus be like this? Her eyes landed on a Bonnie who was viewing the scene critically. She felt her heart lurch.
"I see you missed me. I missed you too, love," he remarked smarmily. "But I'm afraid I've been kept occupied by someone." He jutted his chin in Caroline's direction. Tanya rolled her eyes as Caroline grinned at them.
"I'm glad to see you have kept up with your cheesy ways," Tanya teased. She soon eyed their drinks and said, "I want to get a drink too."
"Allow me to fetch one for you." Klaus turned to go, but Tanya stopped him.
"Aw, that's alright. I'll get myself one, thanks," she said but Klaus followed her anyway when Caroline gave him a look of concern. There were a lot of drunk dudes at the party here, and Tanya was only 4 feet 11. She didn't want her to go unaccompanied; but also. with Bonnie tugging her elbow, she knew she couldn't follow her out. So, she shot a pleading look towards Klaus who thankfully understood her meaning and nodded before following her best friend. Caroline felt a pang of affection rush through her.
"Hey, what was that about?" Bonnie said, as soon as the two left their sight.
"What was that?" Caroline asked, confused.
"That thing between the two of them—you're not telling me that's normal?"
Caroline blinked. "What do you mean?"
"They were flirting right in front of you!"
Caroline's eyes widened. "They're friends. They've been friends since before Klaus and I got together. They always spoke to each other that way."
Bonnie shot her an unconvinced look. "Alright, but it doesn't look very friendly to me."
Caroline felt another pang of irritation rush through her. She turned to her friend, annoyed. She had had enough. "You know what, Bonnie?" she said, her voice reaching a high decibel, "you've been judging me, and Klaus and now Tanya since you've come here. And I'm getting really tired of it. Can you get off your high horse and just shut up for once?"
Bonnie's eyes widened and Caroline waited for the onslaught of vitriol but was surprised when Bonnie only bit her lip and looked at the floor, as if ashamed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that... I just want you to be happy."
Caroline pursed her lips, frowning. "I understand that," Caroline said softly. "But you need to give Klaus a chance. And Tanya."
Bonnie nodded and looked up at Caroline with a smile. "I will. I'm sorry. I'll keep an open mind."
"Thank you," Caroline said, a smile breaking out on her own face. "I'm glad to hear that."
When Klaus and Tanya came back, Caroline was glad to see that Bonnie made an effort to talk to them. Soon Kol gatecrashed the party with his friends and he was flirting with Tanya—annoying her.
There was this bizarre comradery and friendship that had grown between the Tanya and Kol. It mostly consisted of Tanya shouting at him or insulting him, but Kol never seemed to find offense. Instead, he did the decent thing and actually listened to her. Caroline had been a little impressed but tried not to give too much credit to Kol just for acting like a decent human being.
"Is there something going on between the two of them?" Caroline heard Bonnie ask, to which the former just shrugged. Bonnie was soon distracted when she found a boy, she liked from one of her classes. She told Caroline she would be going off with him to spend some time and Caroline nodded happily. She kind of liked the way things were going and was okay with Bonnie leaving. Caroline had been growing nervous with each passing second that Bonnie was going to say something upsetting, or she would, and it would all go to hell. It was best when things ended on a high or a mid-level note.
"Do you want to go home, love?" Klaus asked, leaning in. Caroline glanced at Tanya who had been standing beside them when Klaus had posed the question.
"Do you?" she asked her best friend who nodded.
"I do too," a thoroughly sloshed Kol said, wounding his arms around Tanya's neck, who surprisingly did not push him away. Caroline raised an eyebrow but did not comment at the way Tanya was actually supporting Kol's weight. She stored the information to later interrogate her best friend.
They were soon off to Klaus's place where they found Marcel sitting in the living with his girlfriend Leila.
"Where are you guys coming from?" he asked as Kol fell into his arms. "Hurt?" Marcel asked, immediately, a look of concern over his face. Caroline was struck by that, for some reason. Of course, Klaus and Kol were always getting into fights, and Marcel must have been the one who would clean up after them all this time.
"No, just drunk," Klaus said, waving off his friends' concerns. "Hi Leila," he said, patting the girl on the shoulder, while the latter saluted in return. Caroline exchanged a polite smile with the girl while she made a beeline to Klaus's room, with Tanya in tow.
"I really need to pee," she told Tanya as she went into Klaus's bathroom. "I know, I do too!" her best friend called out. When Caroline was done peeing, Tanya went in. She saw Klaus come into the room, dragging a mattress in.
"Don't worry, love, I'll make sure to be the gentleman and sleep on it," he said before Caroline said anything. The former felt a rush of affection in her chest. She wound her arms around his waist and reached up to kiss him on mouth.
"You're wonderful," she sighed as she pulled away. She knew Tanya would be out soon. Klaus leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips before dragging in the mattress further.
"I'll get some sheets," he said, simply, as he went out again. Tanya came out and seeing the mattress, raised an eyebrow at Caroline.
"I could just crash on the couch," she said, rubbing her arm, awkwardly.
"Don't be silly, the mattress isn't for you. It's for Klaus," Caroline grinned as she flopped onto the bed. "You're sleeping on the bed, with me." Tanya's eyes widened as a grin stretched over her face.
"I like Klaus. You should keep him." She said with a giggle. Caroline let out a giggle of her own.
"We'll see about that."
"Bonnie seemed nice." Tanya said after a while. Caroline shot her a look.
"She is...," Caroline trailed off. "She's not that bad," she said finally. Tanya nodded, understandingly, as she lay down next to Caroline. Caroline pulled the sheets over them.
"I miss our sleepovers," Caroline said, pulling her best friend close. Tanya smiled against her. "Me too." And after a while she said, "let's have one when Rebekah's back from Mystic Falls."
Rebekah had gone to visit her parents suddenly in the middle of the semester for a week. Klaus and Kol remained mum on the reasons, and so had Rebekah. Tanya and Caroline had tried not to feel bad at the way they would sometimes feel excluded from the Mikaelson family's secrets, their lives. Family above all. Caroline could feel the same things resonate in Tanya's thoughts at the moment. She reached out to rub her friend's arm in a comforting manner. Tanya smiled but didn't say anything.
Klaus came in with sheets which he started spreading over his mattress.
"You guys ready to sleep?" he asked. Caroline looked at Tanya who shrugged and said, "I'm okay with lying awake and talking for a bit." Caroline nodded at Klaus. "Same," she said.
"So, what did you think about Bonnie tonight?" Caroline asked, as Klaus neared the bed and settled himself near the edge of the bed. He sprawled across the bed and propped his head on an arm, as Tanya and Caroline tucked their feet underneath themselves. Before Klaus could answer, the door suddenly swung open, startling them. It was Kol
"Are you all having a midnight slumber party slash slumber talk while I'm banished to the couch in the living room?" he grumbled as he made his way to the bed only to be stopped by Klaus kicking him in the abdomen lightly and violent protests from the girls.
"Banished from the bed, I see, never-mind, I shall colonize the mattress,"
"Like your ancestors," Tanya muttered, inciting a giggle from Caroline and a chuckle from Klaus.
"What was that, sweetheart? You want me to come up there and lie next to you?" Kol asked, stopping midway to turn to look at her. Tanya gave him the middle finger.
"Not around company, surely," he teased. Tanya ignored him, going back to look at Klaus expectantly. He blinked, confused before realization dawned on him.
"Ah, Bonnie. I hate Caroline's friends," Klaus said in a matter-of-fact way.
"Hey!" Tanya protested.
"Not you, love," Klaus said, shooting her a smirk. "I'm talking about those parasites she brought from home."
Tanya shrugged, understandingly, while Caroline's frown deepened. "Hey!" she smacked Klaus's arm. "That's mean."
"Okay, let's not talk about Bonnie," Tanya said, winking at Klaus. Caroline rolled her eyes at the both of them. They were so childish. Honestly, Bonnie wasn't that bad. "How's Rebekah?" Tanya asked instead. Soon Kol, who was sitting on the mattress, his head visible, and Klaus's expression became somber.
"Yes, how is she? I haven't heard from her in a week," Caroline said, pulling her knees against herself.
"She's good. She'll be back soon," Klaus said cryptically. Tanya and Caroline knew better than to push.
"That's good to hear," Tanya said, trying to keep the mood light. Their conversations spanned other light topics before they called it a night. Kol was kicked out of the room, while Klaus returned to his place on the mattress.