[~And now I'm in Trouble~]

New York - Ten years ago

It was official. Let the world know!

She was a jinx!

Her first day at her new job was a disaster. Caroline Forbes had thought working after school to get some money on the side wouldn't be such a bad idea but what did she really know?

If she knew any better she wouldn't have broken her heel on the street making her come in the Mikaelson company like a limping drenched cat! Because of course in the downpour outside, she had to lose her umbrella at the wind.

She was soaked, cold and shivering, her make-up was ruined, her hair was a tangled wet mess and now she was carrying so many heavy file folders that she could swear were heavier than she was.

Mr. Mikael, was old school. He preferred writing down everything and now she had to organize everything and digitize his handwriting.

It would be easy if she hadn't had to go downstairs to the old archives to retrieve Mr. Mikael's old files which took her the better part of the afternoon and not to mention that she could swear those old files she had gotten from the storage with Mr. Mikaelson's key were smelling like mould!

This day was a disaster! Her father was right! She was a kiddie pool! One that had already received plenty of mocking and pity gazes from the well-dressed assistants here. People that were working with her father and would definitely tell him of this.

Great. Just great!

Caroline hugged the files annoyed and the putrid smell from the old papers not only made her nauseous but also made her sneeze like hell.

She wasn't looking where she was going. Trying to balance on her broken shoe, without really being able to look where she was going was not an easy thing. The files she was holding were towering over her, heavy on her hands as she tried to balance them over her knee.

She had to climb up the stairs and then-

She slipped!

A muted scream escaped her lips as she felt her body being propelled backward. The files dropped and she was going to fall down the stairs-

A hand reached out, pulling her up the stairs before she fell, and wrapped around her waist securing her at the top step.

The next thing Caroline knew was that she was safe, snuggled against a broad chest.

"Easy there, love."

Caroline followed that beautiful accent, looked up and froze.

The brightest blue eyes she had ever seen were staring back at her. Her savior had a smirk and dimples.

Wow…he really did have dimples!

She opened her mouth to say something, to thank him and then add to that something extremely clever and maybe even funny and sophisticated but instead…she sneezed into his face!

The man laughed and she cursed herself.

Yep. It was official. She was a jinx!

Virginia - Today

Felicity Martin straightened her black pencil skirt, fixed her white shirt, checked her austere braid for any loose strands and only then she pushed her glasses on the bridge of her nose.

She took a good look at the mirror.

Plain. Ordinary. An average woman and most of all unremarkable.

Tyler, her boyfriend, wouldn't agree with that description which was one of the reasons why she cared for him so much but she knew better. She had gone through impressive lengths to ensure she would blend in through the crowds and maintain a generic and dull appearance that would not provoke and most of all would not catch the attention of anyone.

Of anyone or most specifically…of him.

She inspected her appearance one last time before she decided that she was professional enough but most of all there was nothing that would make her stand out.

She remembered an old life. Of another girl that loved to party. That girl had another name, another life and loved being the center of attention. That girl was a kept woman. The lover of a notorious crime lord that she had naively believed that despite everything else he loved her as much as she loved him.

That girl was gone now. The woman that was now heading to the bookstore she worked in had swallowed that girl and destroyed every memory of her.

Four years had passed since that girl had run away. Four years since she had left everything behind and Felicity Martin was born.

She had decided to be happy then. That was why she had chosen that name for her new identity and life. And she had made it.

She was now in a beautiful relationship with a man that loved her. Tyler cherished her. Respected her and most of all he was faithful to her and had no secrets to hide. Felicity knew that he would ask her to marry him soon and maybe, just maybe, she would be able to push past the fear and accept his proposal.

Four years was a long time. In four years she had relocated herself several times but it was the first time that she stayed for more than a few months in the same place. Tyler was the main reason. He offered her stability. He was brass but funny, he persisted and pushed past her walls and gained a place in her heart and her bed. He was safe. The safe choice. The sensible choice and as the months went by Felicity gave more and more into him. She had been feeling so lonely and he had been there for her.

They were now living together and it was close to perfect. It was time for her to truly move on. To stop looking behind her back. Surely he had moved on by now too. He would probably not even remember her.

That thought filled her with relief and some hints of bitterness that she would not accept. It was not as if what they had shared had been real.

Felicity gritted her teeth, grabbed her coat and went out into the chill of the day.

"Miss me, babe?"

Felicity smiled at Tyler's smug voice and pushed her phone closer to her ear.

"Like crazy."

"How are you doing without me?"

"Okay," Felicity shrugged, not bothering to pretend otherwise. The days she was sweetly coddling a man's ego by putting him first while she was never the first choice were gone, "I do miss you though."

"I'll try to finish everything here before the two weeks mark," Tyler said.

Felicity felt warmth spreading all over her toes. Tyler was really a great boyfriend.

"I'll wait for you," she promised him, her voice sweet and quiet a contrast to his laughter at the other end of the line.

"You better."

Felicity Martin ended the call and put her phone back in her purse before she looked around carefully. Making sure she wasn't being followed. She had that weird feeling on the bus. And all day at work.

Looking over her shoulder was a habit she hadn't been able to shake and today for some reason her instincts were on high alert.

The hours had passed by so slowly. For some reason, Felicity felt uncomfortable today. For the last months, she worked as a cashier in a cozy bookstore close to the place Tyler worked.

That was how she had met him. He worked just down the street and they had met when she had finished her shift. After that day he used to come by and buy a book every single day. Eventually, she gave into him and they started dating.

Felicity was surprised with how Tyler saw under her boring exterior and most of all she was pleasantly taken back by how attentive he was being with her. It was a new experience for her. She wasn't being pampered and showered with expensive gifts and luxury but Tyler cared for her in an honest and modest way. Nothing flashy or intense. Nothing mind-blowing. He was warm and sweet and she liked sweet. Tyler was into sports and he liked burgers and beer. He was simple and funny and most of all he was not complicated. He didn't carry a gun. He didn't like punching people to death and he wasn't getting a sadistic thrill by shooting his enemies because he didn't have enemies or any darkness to share. Tyler Lockwood was clean and good and Felicity didn't have to worry or suffer or being paraded around like a sidepiece glued on his shoulder, nothing but a flashy possession and a trophy.

Maybe this was why she was so upset today.

Tyler was on a work trip and wouldn't be back for at least two weeks and she had gotten used to him waking her up and then going to their jobs together. Tyler was her safety net. He was always there to take her back to their apartment. There she would cook while he would watch TV and eventually she would fall asleep in his arms.

Missing Tyler was messing with her head. Not to mention that she was a bit hungry which made her lightheaded and dizzy and she knew she would have to sleep alone tonight which was not something she was looking forward to.

Going back to an empty apartment was a bit disorienting for her now. She didn't like changes anymore. Felicity Martin was the kind of woman that didn't like surprises. She liked quiet nights. She walked on flat shoes, she never tripped and she always watched twice before she crossed the road. Once to make sure it was safe to pass, twice to make sure she wasn't being followed.

And yet today she looked around three times and even four.

Felicity shook her head. She wasn't being followed. This was just part of her imagination. Vivid as it was she had to tone it down. She had to stop sabotaging her life. This wasn't the first time this was happening. At the beginning when she had first tasted her freedom this had been happening all the time. It varied from being paranoid right down to having full-blown panic attacks.

Every time she was getting settled somewhere she would get this chill like a shiver up and down her back and she would run away. She would pack and she would run. She would start over at another state. From scratch.

Only she couldn't continue to do this anymore. It wasn't healthy. And now she had Tyler.

She was safe. This was just her fear talking. She had to be rational about it. Four years was a long time. It was over. She was safe.

She knew that at first, he would come after her. He would search for her and if he ever found her he was as good as dead if not worse. She used to stay up late dreading of all the ways he would punish her if he ever caught up with her.

He always tasted like danger but he had kept that danger at bay when it came to her. Now he would unleash it over her, he would destroy her and she couldn't allow it. She wouldn't allow him to destroy her again. Once was enough. There would be no second chances. Not by him. Not by her. No forgiveness. No happy ending. She had run. No one ran away from him. Not when you belonged to him and his world. A world he had kept hidden from her even though she knew. Deep down she knew. She knew what was hidden under the surface and yet she had chosen to stay by his side. She had foolishly loved him when he had only used her.

Felicity hopped up the stairs of the old building her apartment was in. Three flights. No elevator. No noise but the shushing sound of the old carpet.

Tyler had been insisting they should find a better place. Both of them could afford a better place but Felicity didn't know how to explain to him that this was the perfect place. It was grey. Inconspicuous. Lost in the noise.

No one would ever think of looking for her here.

Almost no one.

The key turned and the moment she opened the door and entered her apartment she knew.

She froze.

The shadows shifted and Felicity Martin was no more.

"Welcome back, love."

In the darkness, Caroline Forbes stared back at the cruelest blue eyes she had ever seen.

Klaus Mikaelson had found her.