Another tumblr request here. You can find me there as westfalled :)
Witch's Brew
"Can you please stop hovering?" Caroline snaps in frustration, glaring daggers at the warlock pacing across her floor. His steps were irritating and distracting, and she needed to get this spell exactly right.
"You're borrowing a family heirloom, love. Forgive me if I don't let it too far out of my sight." Klaus looks pointedly at the book of magic laying open beside her.
Caroline's sitting cross legged on her bedroom floor before a smoking cauldron, pens and note cards scattered around her. She rolls her eyes, tracing her finger down the ingredients of the potion one last time. Klaus lowers himself to the floor across from her, his black coat a stark contrast to her light purple room. She hadn't expected him to stick around after she'd borrowed his book. They'd never been friends, nor enemies, but somehow they always managed to cross paths. From banishing ghosts to curse breaking, he had a knack for appearing when she and her friends needed help. She chalked it up to his friendship with Stefan, but she was grateful that he'd received her request to borrow his family's book of magic so well, even if he was annoying with his wit and the eyes he made at her.
As a fledgling witch, Caroline hadn't been granted her own book yet, and Klaus' was the most complete she'd ever come across, even more so than Bonnie's. Spells carried from centuries and lands long forgotten graced the pages.
The truth potion had been Katherine's idea when she'd brought up her problems with Tyler to her friends at school. Bonnie and Elena had told her it wasn't a good idea, worried about the answers she'd get, but Katherine had been sure it was foolproof. You may not like what you hear, but at least you'll hear it, her dark haired friend had said. With a pointed question and a little eye contact, she could pull the truth from anyone she wanted for a few short hours—no matter how much the other person didn't want to share their secrets.
Caroline only had one question she was dying to ask. She had to know if Tyler truly loved her. Her relationship with her werewolf boyfriend had been rocky the last few months. In the past she had always been so sure of him, of them, but now she couldn't help the questions and doubts that lingered long after she would kiss him goodbye at night. She could forgive his distractions; finding his place in his pack, finding his place in the weird supernatural world he'd been thrust into when he'd been bitten just as she'd been thrust into when she'd turned seventeen. But she couldn't forgive his neglect, his long absences without so much as a text.
Caroline wanted to know if all of their ups and downs and breaks ups and makeups would be worth it in the end. If he was really the one.
She felt a little guilty for her manipulation in using magic against him, but in her defense he'd been avoiding having an actual conversation with her about them since he'd come back from his last trip to the Appalachians. She had tried and tried, but somehow he'd always managed to turn the conversation in his favor without having to answer any questions. She was fed up. All she wanted was his honesty.
"If you insist on invading my personal space at least make yourself useful and pass me the dried lavender."
Klaus passes her the jar of lavender with a smirk, his fingers brushing against hers as she takes the jar. She crushes the dried plant in one hand, sprinkling it over the bubbling cauldron. The brew hisses, turning a deep green as she stirs it.
Caroline closes her eyes, wills all the magic she can muster to her, and murmurs the incantation three times. The cauldron boils loudly before ceasing, the mixture falling flat. All she can smell is lavender. When she opens her eyes, Klaus is looking at her with an unreadable expression. Her skin prickles as they lock eyes for maybe just a bit too long.
She shifts, looking down at the book. She's sure she's done everything right. "Did it work?" She asks.
He shrugs, "I've never attempted this particular spell. We won't know until you've drank the potion." He says, and her nose wrinkles while he grins.
"What? You don't want people telling you how much of a jerk they really think you are?" Caroline quips at him as she makes a move to stand to grab the cup she'd brought from the kitchen that was sitting on her desk. Before she can, Klaus holds his hand up, the cup lifting from her desk and floating across the room towards them.
For a moment she's mesmerized as it glides through the air. Klaus is truly gifted, his ability to perform magic without so much as uttering a syllable was uncanny. The cup floats in front of her and she grabs it, laughing a little in wonder. She'd had her powers for a little over a year, but his was eons ahead of hers, though he was just a few years older than her.
"I still don't understand how you do that." Caroline says, filling the cup. She hopes it tastes as good as it smells.
"Perhaps I'll teach you one day." Klaus says, voice suddenly soft. She pauses, cup just touching her lips. "Bottoms up, love." He nods at her, encouraging, his voice returning to its usual octave.
She downs the potion, surprised at how sweet it is. She wipes a hand across her lips when she's done. The only way to know if it really worked was to ask a question, so she locks eyes with Klaus. It seemed like they'd been doing that a lot lately. "Do you think this is a bad idea?" Caroline asks. She braces herself, waits for him to berate her for using magic to con her boyfriend.
"Absolutely, but I understand your reasoning. Matters of the heart are always difficult. I think that...perhaps the fact that you have to go to these lengths to have a simple discussion with your boyfriend about the state of your relationship is already a sign, but I admire your loyalty, and your strength. I wasn't certain you'd be able to pull this spell off, but you did." His comments surprise her. He was almost...complimenting her? Klaus seems to realize that too, and he averts his gaze.
"Well, that was certainly...honest." She's worried now, the logic of his words striking her. She knows he's right, but still, her heart—her heart just had to hear it from Tyler before she could let him go.
His voice softens like it had before, "I'm truly sorry, Caroline. You deserve more."
She wonders for a moment if it's the spell or him talking. She almost asks, her mouth opening—but he's already standing and holding his hand out to her.
"You only have three hours. You better get to Tyler's."
They leave her house together, and she pauses before Klaus turns to his car, hand catching his arm, "Thank you—for helping me. I owe you one."
His eyes are almost sad, she thinks. For her. "Good luck, Caroline."
Caroline is elbow deep in ice cream and Gossip Girl when the doorbell rings. Grumbling, she pauses the show and sets her ice cream aside. She wipes at her eyes before wrapping a blanket around herself.
Her conversation with Tyler had not gone well. Or it had, depending on how she looked at it. She got the truth, but Elena and Bonnie—even Klaus—had been right. It had been painful to listen to him proclaim that he loved her, but not enough, not for life. I want to know what else is out there, he had said. She'd spent the last hour on her couch, feasting on sweets and wallowing.
She glances at the clock on the wall as she walks to the door—she had an hour until the magic from the spell ran out.
Caroline opens the door, surprised to find Klaus standing there. "What are you doing here?"
He looks sheepish, "I was worried about you." He confesses, hand rubbing the back of his neck.
Caroline bites her lip, cheeks flushing. The moonlight filters over him, casting shadows across his face. The light sprinkle of stubble on his cheeks had never looked more inviting. She steps aside to let him in before going to the kitchen to snag an extra spoon.
When she returns to the living room she finds him already seated on the couch. She sits beside him, balancing the tub of ice cream on the couch between them. They snack and watch the show in silence, and she glances at the clock a little while later, realizing she only has five minutes left.
Swallowing, she turns to the warlock beside her. He feels her gaze, turns to her. "What is it?" He asks.
"Why did you help me?"
His answer is instantaneous, "I fancy you."
Whatever Caroline had expected, it hadn't been that. She flounders for a moment, searching for words. Klaus looks as surprised as she's sure she does, and she swears she catches a flush of red on his neck.
"And you still helped me with Tyler. Even thought it could have ended with us agreeing to work on things."
Klaus swallows, and she wants to laugh as he squirms. He couldn't lie, couldn't hide behind a sarcastic comment. She thinks his hand might be shaking—just a little—as he reaches out to brush a curl from her face. His finger glides across her jaw, and she swears that nobody has ever looked at her so tender. "I've waited this long for you, I can wait a little more."
Her breath catches. "Klaus—"
Her phone suddenly buzzes in her pocket, and they both jump, his hand regretfully falling from her face. She'd forgotten she'd set a timer for when the spell would end.
Klaus blows out a grateful breath, "Time's up." He says, relieved. He gathers himself quickly, and gone is the flustered boy she'd witnessed just moments before.
He had feelings for her. Holy shit. She settles back into the couch, picking her spoon back up. She steals a glance at him from the corner of her eye. He looked good, sitting there beside her.
Maybe she'd make just one more batch of that truth potion.