Chapter 3:
"Aaaand, cut!" somebody cried, and everybody visibly relaxed. Relief flooded Caroline as Bonnie nodded appreciatively, walking towards the crew.
"That was really fast. A new record, I think. Well, I'm hungry. Care to join me for a salad, Care?" the woman asked Caroline, who reluctantly started to follow her 'best friend' off set. She was freaking out. Surprisingly, she had suddenly remembered every word of the script needed for the scene, which in turn made her freak out even more. Luckily her character had just realized she was pregnant, so acting all panicked had actually played out quite well in the scene they shot.
However, Caroline still did not understand what was happening to her.
"I- I can't," she told Bonnie, stammering as she searched for a possible reason, and Bonnie gasped.
"Oh yeah, you're finished for the day, right," she nodded, linking her arm with Caroline's, "I forgot. What are you going to do with that much free time?"
Caroline smiled at the other woman's jesting tone, while her heart beat faster. Her afternoon was free? So she might have time to find Klaus.
"Are you spending time with Stefan?" Bonnie chirped, grinning cheekily.
Before Caroline could answer, two arms encircled her from behind and Stefan's head appeared on her shoulder.
"Who's spending time with me?" he inquired good- naturedly, and Caroline felt his breath hot on her face as he softly kissed her under her ear.
Bonnie laughed and took a step to the side. "How come you always appear when I try to tease out juicy details from Care?" she chuckled and Stefan grinned at her.
"I'm psychic. As soon as you start talking about me, my Stefan-senses start to tingle!"
Caroline rolled her eyes at the bad Spiderman innuendo, softly slapping his hands stroking her waist.
"Psychic, alright. That's what you call creepily walking behind your girlfriend and her best friend, waiting for an opportunity to bud in!" she laughed, turning around. As soon as she realized what she had said Caroline froze, staring at Stefan, whose face was mere inches from hers now. He smiled at her, his hands now on her back, pressing her closer.
"Well, I'm a gentleman. I couldn't well interrupt when you were engaged in conversation!"
With that he leaned in closer, kissing a surprised Caroline on the lips.
"However, I did not understand everything you two said," Stefan continued as he broke away, grinning, "So- what were you talking about?" His words were almost a whisper against Caroline's lips and she could still feel his mouth tingling on them. She swallowed and carefully pushed him a littler further away.
"Bonnie was merely asking whether we would spend the afternoon together, seeing as I'm free as a bird now," she told him, and his face fell.
"I'd love that, babe, but I still have multiple scenes to shoot before I can go," he told her, regret audible in his voice. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief, taking a step back from him.
"Well, I'll survive, I guess. Maybe," she started, and thought about a way to be able to meet Klaus, "maybe I'll do a little shopping," she suggested, quickly adding "disguised, of course," when she saw the others' faces.
"Right, you should really try to look unsuspicious," Bonnie agreed, laughing. "Last time we went shopping we didn't get to more than one store because of the fans!"
"Or you could finally take some bodyguards with you!" Stefan proposed, but Caroline merely rolled her eyes.
"Nobody wants to kill me, Stefan, so I'm quite capable of going shopping without your Bodyguard Sampson!"
Stefan did not look too happy, but seemed to know better than to argue with her. He leaned down again to kiss her and Caroline felt guilty as her traitorous heart started beating a little faster.
"Have fun then," he murmured, and she smiled.
"I will," she told him, while yet again guilt crept up her chest since she was planning to meet another man.
Stefan let her go and looked towards Bonnie. "You're up for some Pizza?" he asked and she rolled her eyes in response.
"You men can all eat like pigs and never gain any weight. So unfair," the dark haired woman grumbled, waving at Caroline. "See ya tomorrow, Care!" she added as they walked off and Caroline only shouted "And don't even think about having Sampson following me!" after their retreating forms.
Outside the studio a car was waiting for Caroline, driving her back to her loft. Taking a few minutes to look around now that she was alone, she soon realized she and Stefan did not seem to actually live together, yet his stuff was all over her place. There was a second toothbrush and some clothes, as well as food Caroline would never buy for herself. Sitting down in front of a huge computer (seriously, who needed a screen that big?!), she again googled Klaus. Finding his Wikipedia page, she started to realize how different his life had gone once she had left him. After some unsuccessful attempts at art, he had taken up co- ownership of his father's company together with Elijah, who was apparently married to a woman named Katherine. The couple was expecting their first child. Klaus, however, seemed to prefer the bachelor lifestyle and Caroline frowned at a nearly bottomless list of female names grazing his dating information. Apparently, Klaus had slept with every short skirt and anorexic model from this side of the world to the other.
Leaning back in her chair, Caroline crossed her arms over her chest. Did she really want to meet this version of him?
She sighed and entered 'Klaus Mikaelson painting' into the search bar. Soon she was staring at a collection of darkly coloured indistinct paintings she had never seen before. No wonder his art career had ended before it could start: these paintings looked like they belonged on the walls of some occult group of Satanists. Caroline shuddered. This was not right. She needed to talk to Klaus. Maybe he knew what was happening to them.
She searched for the address of the Mikaelson Cooperation's headquarters, realising with relief that they had expanded to L.A., with Klaus as the preliminary head of departments there. After hurriedly writing the address down, Caroline searched her closet for something appropriate to wear, before deciding to go casual, disguising herself with a brimmed hat and sunglasses.
It took about half and hour for Caroline to reach the massive building of Klaus' company and another twenty minutes to reach the 23rd floor where Klaus' office was. After passing through several security checks, one of which she merely got through because a security guy recognized her as someone famous, she was now standing in a polished elevator, and nervously stared at her reflection on the silver walls. The elevator music was annoyingly swingy, and Caroline remembered an argument she and Klaus once had about these kind of songs. He loved them, she had called them fit for an elevator. The irony would have been exquisite if she hadn't been so annoyed.
When the doors pinged open, she took a deep breath before stepping out of the elevator. The room was huge and very clean, the use of colours subtle and discreet. Caroline at once hated it.
"Excuse me, can I help you?" a female voice pierced the silence of the room, and Caroline turned towards it. A bland looking blond was staring at her from an oversized desk and Caroline walked towards her with determined steps, plastering a smile on to her face.
"Good afternoon," she started, while the blond still eyed her suspiciously, "I'm here to see Kl-, uhm, Niklaus Mikaelson."
The woman wrinkled her nose and typed something into her computer.
"There are no meetings scheduled right now. Do you have an appointment?" she asked, her voice a bit snarkier than Caroline would have preferred.
She shot the woman a less friendly look. "Unfortunately, I do not have an appointment, but…"
Before she could finish her sentence the secretary interjected her: "Mr. Mikaelson doesn't have time for anybody without an appointment and he is not interested in any… company at the moment."
It took Caroline a second to realise what the girl meant and she oppressed a gasp at the innuendo of her being an escort or something of the sort.
"Camille, is it?" she asked, her voice sickly sweet as her finger traced a golden name plate on the table. Taking of her glasses, Caroline stared down at the other woman. For a moment she actually regretted ever complaining about Hayley as Klaus' secretary.
As Camille realized who was standing in front of her, her mouth fell open and Caroline could not help the content smile that appeared on her own lips as she continued: "I believe telling him Caroline Forbes is here to see him might suffice."
The blonde's eyes grew even bigger, and it took her a moment before she finally lifted the intercom and dialled a number.
Caroline could not hear Klaus' voice as he answered, but her heart started racing nonetheless.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but Caroline Forbes is here to see you," the secretary mumbled and from her face Caroline could see that a stunned silence followed this information.
Time seemed to stand still, when Camille a few times stammered "Yes" and "No" and finally muttered, "Alright, I'll send her through." Caroline released a deep breath she had not realized she was holding.
"Just through that door and the one behind it," the blonde motioned and Caroline could not help but notice a bitter look on the other woman's face as she did so.
"Thank you," Caroline told her nevertheless, before walking towards the door.
The little room between the two doors seemed like a sanctuary to Caroline. For a moment she caught her breath after closing the door between Camille and herself, before straightening up again. She carefully watched the second door, behind which Klaus was waiting. One more look in her compact mirror and she took the last steps, knocking on it. From inside, she heard Klaus' voice booming "Come in" and it was all she could do to keep her knees from going weak.
Slowly, she opened the door and walked inside his office. It was huge, with windowed walls on one side and walls hung with paintings on the other. For a moment she took it all in before finally meeting his gaze, as he was standing behind his desk, obviously staring at her. She flushed, but neither of them broke the silence for some time.
"Hello, Nik," she smiled, but her voice was fainter than she would have liked. He continued to stare at her like she was a mirage and she swallowed before continuing to speak.
"You look good," she stated, "your hair is different."
That seemed to rouse him from his stupor and he shifted, finally tearing his eyes from her face.
"Caroline," he murmured, his voice not as harsh as she remembered from the last night, but not as velvety as she knew it could be. "I thought Camille was joking. What are you doing here?" he asked, and she took some more steps forward.
"Klaus, I have," she paused for a second and gulped. She had sneaked away from Stefan, taken nearly an hour to get to him, to tell him… what? How could she explain what had happened to her if he did not remember the last six years of them together?
Again, she felt his gaze on her and felt colour rising in her cheeks.
"I mean…" she started again, again failing to find the right words.
"Are you alright, love?" he inquired and the use of her pet name made her heart flutter.
"When did we last see each other, Klaus?" she asked him and he frowned.
"Don't tell me you forgot your grand exit from our home and the way you looked back at me at the airport, hearing me call out your name but boarding the plane anyway, Caroline," he recounted, a bitter chuckle inherent in his voice.
"In all honesty, it was well staged. That was probably the first time I actually believed you might be able to become an actress," he went on, his voice hard.
Caroline stared at him, and felt a sting in her chest at his harsh words. As she did not answer, he felt compelled to continue: "But look at you now: Little Miss Forbes from Mystic Falls, the big TV star! How far we've come!"
For a moment, this bitter side of him took her breath away. She felt dizzy and tears pricked her eyes.
"Klaus," she started weakly, but he interrupted her.
"How rude of me. Don't you want to sit down? Can I offer you something? A drink? Another piece of my soul you can crush?"
He had talked himself into a rage, she realized. She knew this habit of his, knew he was quick to become furious, but also quick to calm down again- if he cared for the person he was talking to.
He turned around and walked towards the windows, staring outside.
"What do you want, Caroline? Or are you just here to bring back those lovely memories of me returning to our place on my own?"
For a second, Caroline wanted to run, but she just gripped the back of a chair and made herself sit down in it.
Calming her breathing, she looked at his back, before shifting her gaze to her hands.
"Yesterday," she started, her small voice echoing in the quiet room, "we were still together. We were together and rather happy, but then we fought and I left and this morning I woke up in a completely different life!"
He did not turn around, but chuckled.
"Yesterday," he mused. "What a nice metaphor for six years of not speaking to each other."
"No!" she interjected, the urgency in her voice making him look over his shoulder. "I mean it, Klaus! It was actually yesterday! It was a different life. One where I did not leave six years ago and you were a painter and I was a nobody, but we were together and I don't know how it happened but now I'm here and this… this isn't right!" she rambled, jumping up again.
Klaus turned around and watched her again, cautiously, searching her face.
"Caroline, please calm down," he told her, and she sat down again as he calmly motioned her to do so.
"Now tell me, love. Did you take any drugs?"
She frowned at him. "No!"
"Did you drink too much?"
"Klaus…"
"Maybe your workload is too high…" he started again and she waved him off.
"You think I'm crazy!" she told him, getting to her feet. "I don't take drugs, I'm not an alcoholic and I sure as hell did not dream this, Klaus! It happened. And I will find a way back to my old life, with or without your help!" she shouted angrily.
Caroline noticed how he took a step back, but soon regained his stance.
"I don't know what's happening to you, Caroline, but we haven't seen each other in six years. We did not speak; we did not exchange Christmas Cards. And I'm sure as hell no painter, just as much as you are not a nobody anymore."
She sighed audibly, stroking a lock of her hair behind her ear, looking at him.
"Are you happy, Klaus?" she asked him quietly, but he did not answer.
Slowly walking around the table she stood directly in front of him, and she had to control herself not to stand on her toes and press a soft kiss to his lips.
He looked into her eyes and she felt him go more rigid.
"Nik," she asked again, "are you happy?"
He swallowed and nodded. "As happy as one in my position could be," he told her, but he did not smile and his words did not hold any emotion.
For a fleeting moment, she laid her hand on his chest and felt his beating heart under her fingers.
"Yesterday you were happier," she stated, before turning around and walking towards the door.
"I'll find a way back!" she told him. "Bye for now, Klaus."
As she left the room, Klaus again stared at her retreating form. It seemed that was all she had left him capable of.
End of Chapter 3
Author's Notes:
I'm sorry I'm not updating that fast, but I'm in the midst of finishing my university studies. My next exam is on Wednesday, the last in less than a month. After that, I'm free to update/ finish my stories - hurray!
So bear with me until then, please! :)
Please R&R!
Thanks and HUGS
Ria
