Disclaimer: Not mine, as much as I wish. A/N: Thanks for your reviews! Like many of you, this is one of my favourite films & I'm as excited as you are to see how this goes. I'm a perfectionist, so I apologise for the delay between updates. Enjoy x
Nothing to Lose
2.
Caroline had arrived home from work and put a frozen dinner in the microwave when her phone rang. She answered with a monotonous hello, hoping it was a wrong number. "Stefan who?" she muttered, pulling some cutlery from the kitchen drawer. "From the wedding," he said. She watched the countdown on the microwave, remembering him, and how she had felt when he'd kissed another woman. "I wasn't expecting to get you," he said. When she stayed silent, he said. "I was wondering if you wanted to get something for dinner? I know this great place-" he began.
She cut him off. "I'm already having dinner." This didn't deter him. "A drink then?" She took out her dinner, burning her fingers on the tray. "No," she said. He stuttered. "I thought we hit it off the other night?" She almost snorted into the phone. "You're way off base, Stefan!" and she hung up, stabbing her steaming lasagne with her fork. A preoccupied Stefan wandered from the kitchen, seeing his friend raise his eyebrows, surrounded by empty beers and gambling chips.
"I grew a beard waiting for you!" Jeremy joked, pointing at the beer opener he'd left on top of the fridge, catching Stefan sliding his phone into his jeans' pocket. "You called a girl, didn't you?" Stefan refused to say. "She's put a spell on you!" Jeremy yelled when Stefan went into the kitchen to grab the bottle opener and contemplate what had gone wrong between him and Caroline. As the night went on, Jeremy relentlessly bugged Stefan about it.
"Her name's Caroline. She's smart, she's funny, I just don't understand why she keeps turning me down, I know we hit if off at the wedding," he said. Jeremy snorted into his hand. "Caroline? She's just come out of a serious relationship and as far as I knew he was a complete jerk, dumping her when she was on holiday, and now the dude's marrying someone else." Stefan frowned, remembering how Jeremy, Elena and Caroline had all grown up in the same house. He understood how Caroline might not want to dive into anything too soon, but her tone was frosty, like he'd personally upset her.
Jeremy patted Stefan's shoulder, seeing him still preoccupied over the matter. "Let me do some recon, Elena said as Museum Curator, Caroline's job is pretty full on, so because you're my friend and I see this is worrying you, I'll try and suss out what's going on." Jeremy grabbed his camera from his desk, with a grin, while Stefan reluctantly agreed.
Caroline jogged through the park, listening to her iPod, unaware of being watched. An artist frowned at his painting, unhappy with the condition of his subject's feet. When Caroline happened to run past, he was both pleased and surprised. He chased after her, calling out. "Piede! Piede!" and getting strange looks from people nearby. He just needed her to stop so he could study her feet, he thought. "When a woman runs away, it means she loves you! You must love me SO much!" he shouted, causing Caroline to look over her shoulder and see some nut waving paintbrushes at her.
Confused and alarmed, she ran faster, dodging a horse and cart and hoping to lose the deranged painter, but instead he collided with the cart and fell flat on his face. The owner of the cart yelled abuse at him, calming his horse while Caroline kneeled down to check on the painter. "Are you okay?" She shook his shoulder, concerned, then he gasped, rolling onto his side. "Si, I'm okay. My name is Tyler Lockwood, two days ago I had a vision, I see your face, your torso, your breasts, but I cannot paint your feet, so if you could just remove your socks-" he grasped her ankles with two eager hands.
Caroline flinched in alarm. "You came all the way from Italy to paint my feet?" Tyler nodded. "Si!" she fell back and apologised for his accident, telling him to be more careful. Tyler's shouts echoed through the park after her retreating figure. "You will recognise my love, Caroline. I will paint your face on every building until you do!" She warmed down outside The Grill cafe, making sure to check the streets for more weirdos before sitting down to enjoy a coffee and a sandwich.
Pulling a copy of Vogue from the newspaper stand, she began to relax. At the table beside her, a man sat with a cap over his blue eyes. He smiled when she took a bite of her sandwich, returning to her magazine. "Isn't this cafe the greatest?" the man said. Caroline jumped, almost knocking over her coffee. Nobody seemed to care he'd switched tables and now sat opposite her.
"Feast your eyes...I'm a model, Matt Donovan." He held out his hand. She stared at him. "This is crazy, I don't know if I should look at my own reflection or look at you!" He laughed, glancing back and forth. Caroline tried to catch the eye of the manager making coffees for a family of four. Matt winked, running his hand through his dirty blond hair and slamming a portfolio on the table, spilling her coffee. "All my photo shoots! You're going to love the ones where I'm posing nude." She pulled some money from her wallet, aiming to leave.
Glimpsing his reflection in the mirror above her head, Matt sighed and admired himself, providing a running commentary, much to the annoyance of everybody else. The manager noticed her discomfort, and saw his customers leaving. "Put your shirt back on, what the hell do you think this is?" Caroline hid her gaze after Matt flexed his pecks, impressed. "I'll call security!" Matt laughed, ignoring the manager and blocked her exit. "I know you must think I'm a little nuts, but I'm in love with you!" he yelled after she fled the cafe, very shaken. What the hell was going on?
Forced to walk through the park due to a burst water-main, Caroline kept her head down. Was she losing her mind? Had she been working too hard? She heard a magician failing to entertain some kids nearby. "Excuse me, you've dropped your watch!" She kept walking, thinking he was speaking to someone else, until his hand caught her shoulder. "Is this yours?" she looked up into the tall man's serious expression, and saw her watch. Startled to have lost it, she thanked him and put it on.
"Excuse me!" he called again. What now? "You've dropped your watch?" She brushed her hair from her flushed cheeks, staring at her watch she'd just put on, dangling again from the man's fingers. "Seriously?" she snatched it from him, and tied it to her wrist. "I don't have time for this!" People were chuckling around her. "You have all the time in the world!" he grinned. "Now it's getting creepy because you must have touched me and I didn't feel anything-" she snatched it back, irritated.
"I am the Magnificent Enzo! Please pick a card and I will tell you your destiny." The crowd seemed happy she was his guinea pig rather than them. "If I pick a card will you stop stealing my watch?" Enzo shrugged in response. She took a card hoping after that he'd leave her alone. He shuffled them, and pulled one from the deck at random, showing the crowd first and then her, and she smirked. "That's not my card," she said. He wasn't a very good magician, she thought.
Enzo grinned in a mysterious way and opened his long jacket. "Is this your card?" She wasn't the only one who stepped back, disgusted when he pretended to remove his heart from his chest, covered in what Caroline could only hope was tomato sauce. The fake-heart slipped from his red-hands and bounced towards a disappointed ten year old as she made her getaway, hoping Esther wouldn't kill her for being five minutes late. "Ciao Bella!" a voice called. She looked up and Tyler grinned, presenting an artwork of Caroline's naked body to the world. There painted on the side of a building wall were her breasts, her stomach and her- "Hey! It's the girl from the painting!" Caroline changed direction, fleeing the scene.
Jeremy staked out in his car, checking the photos he'd taken, and wondering what Elena would say when he told her Caroline was dating guys of all ages, and talents, in secret."Sorry man," Jeremy said, showing the copies to Stefan, and watching his expression change from confusion to wonder. "Looks like she's a bigger player than you are!" Jeremy said. Stefan put down the photos at last, a smile appearing on his lips, much to Jeremy's surprise. "I'm not giving up. No, this just reassures me I need to step up my game. I'm calling the Florist," he declared with a smile.
Breathless and in the lift, Caroline fixed her hair, checking her watch, still firmly attached to her wrist, to see she was again, five minutes late. Bonnie came running, giving her a coffee, and asking if she was okay. "I'm fine, how's everything for the Gala, have you spoken to them about the centrepiece, it needs to be here by tomorrow afternoon..." Bonnie paused, making Caroline look up. "Well, they were being misogynist assholes, so, I told them to shove it!" Caroline felt like Esther was choking her, and swallowed, watching Bonnie's pleased expression falter.
"You told them to shove it? But that was our centrepiece! Esther's going to fire me." Bonnie tried to make amends, only making Caroline feel guilty because she had always encouraged Bonnie to be more direct and to believe in herself, and to not take shit from anyone. Bonnie hovered nearby while Caroline tried to think, her eyes welling up with tears, and then her phone rang. "Little busy, Stefan, what do you want?" she took a sip of coffee to steady her nerves. "I thought I'd ask you out to dinner, so you could officially tell me what I did wrong, and maybe we could work it out over a chocolate mousse." Bonnie pointed at Esther guiding their new patron up the hallway.
"I've got enough to deal with, what with my assistant giving away my centrepiece, and an event to organise. Goodbye Stefan." The lift opened, and Stefan walked out much to Caroline's dismay. Bonnie gripped Caroline's arm, Esther was only a metre away. "Why don't you look me in the eyes and tell me that," Stefan whispered. Caroline tried to look presentable. "Are you stalking me now?" she hissed. Stefan introduced himself to Bonnie, giving the flowers, he'd ordered for Caroline, to her instead. Caroline waited for Esther to introduce, her son... "Klaus Mikaelson. I've managed to persuade him to join us at the Gala, and he's very excited to see the-" Bonnie squeaked, pretending to have sneezed and buried her nose amongst Stefan's white calla lilies.
Klaus had just noticed Stefan, and recognised him immediately. "Stefan Salvatore! You took a million volts in the neck during that game!" he grinned, while Esther and Bonnie stared in surprise. Klaus hugged Stefan, happy when he signed a scrap of paper Klaus pulled from his suit pocket. "Are you quite finished, Niklaus?" Esther asked, before introducing Caroline. "Only my mother calls me that, call me Klaus. Pleasure," and he kissed Caroline's knuckles. She blushed a little. "So where is it?" Esther asked, looking around for the centrepiece artwork, as though it should be there.
"We've had a complication," Caroline croaked while Esther frowned. Klaus muttered something to Stefan, who nodded, and Bonnie almost confessed. "Actually, Mrs Mikaelson, Caroline will be showing an original Petrocelli, never viewed," Stefan said, holding Caroline's awed gaze. "A Vincenzo Pasquale Petrocelli? The Italian painter?" Esther queried, while Caroline prized Bonnie's fingers from her bruised arm. Stefan nodded. "It's rare. The only one of its kind. I'm its sole owner as I'm the subject. It captures the moment after I was struck by lightning, and I will gladly re-live the humiliation, so Caroline can use it as the centrepiece in this exhibition." Klaus seemed excited, but not as excited as getting a private tour from Caroline.
"Yes, come this way," she said, taking the older gentleman to the first exhibit. She thanked Stefan over her shoulder. Maybe there had been some misunderstanding in Rome, maybe she should give him another chance? She left Bonnie to look after Stefan, and showed Klaus her favourite paintings, from Degas to Picasso, telling him interesting stories she'd learned during her time working there.
Having finished the tour, Caroline smiled, and Klaus pulled something from the inside of his jacket.
"I have a gift for you," he gave her a Tiffany's bag, and her eyes widened. "You didn't have to," she whispered, taking out a black box. She gasped when she peaked inside. It was a diamond bracelet, an expensive diamond bracelet, by the looks of it. She put it back inside the bag, and noticed Klaus staring at her like she were his angel. She remembered the coins she had stolen from Rome. "Please say you're here because you have a deep appreciation of art..." she asked, slowly.
Klaus chuckled, confirming her fears. "I've dreamed of this moment, Caroline. Ever since returning from my travels. I knew you were the one for me." She squeaked, escaping his advances, ducking whenever he tried to kiss her. "Want to play cat and mouse?" he grinned, as she avoided him, at last throwing his present back, and hearing his confessions of love echoing through the museum.
That afternoon, Caroline tried to get everything organised for the Gala. She was distracted and interrupted by her Romeos who relentlessly tried to win her affections. Klaus had sent long stemmed roses turning her office into a florist. Matt had been photographed on a side of a bus, asking for her hand in marriage. Enzo had climbed onto Esther's office window-sill to pull a rabbit from his magician's hat, and Tyler had painted naked murals of her up and down the street. Esther called her into her office, unimpressed by the chaos.
"I can't explain..." Caroline said, when Esther stared at her. You wouldn't believe me if I tried, she thought."I promise, I won't be distracted by this, I'm working as hard as I can to make this a night to remember." Esther tapped her nails on her desk, lips pursed, and leaned back in her chair. "I need confidence in my curators, Caroline, and I need this Gala to be perfect, not only because the mayor will be there, but because my family will be too, and I need my employees to be professional as ever. I have already had words with my son about the excessive flowers - but this mural, these other gifts need to go away. So, I will give you only this warning, if you embarrass me, I will see to it that you won't go near any artworks, ever again!"
When she finished work, Caroline avoided the front of the building afraid her Romeos would be waiting for her. She stood at the loading dock, talking to herself like a madwoman. "Okay, it's clear, there's no Tyler, no Matt, no Enzo, and no Klaus," she pushed open the door, ready to run if she had to. "Caroline-" she screamed, pulling something from her purse which turned out to be mint breath-spray and sprayed it into the eyes of her stalker. "ARGH!" Stefan waved his arms about and walked straight into the door. "Oh my god! Sorry, I thought you were somebody else!" she let out a stray giggle, straightening her face when Stefan groaned.
He refused to let her see. "Don't be such a baby, I really feel awful, I didn't know it would hurt that bad," she said, trying to prise his hands from his face. Then he laughed, removing his hands, and still grinning, told her, it didn't hurt at all. "You think you're real charming don't you?" she punched him the arm. He smirked, and sighed. "How about you tell me why you've been avoiding me?" It was Caroline's turn to sigh. "The red girl in the dress who kissed you in Rome? Friend of yours?" Realization dawned on Stefan's face. "You saw that, huh? She's our crazy cousin, Katherine, and since she loves her wine, so to speak, she often gets plastered. I was only helping her back inside."
Caroline walked down the road, Stefan hurrying to keep up. "So she's not an ex-girlfriend, then?" she asked. Stefan shook his head, putting his hands in his suit pockets. "Thank you for offering to show your painting, I know that it means a lot to you and-" Stefan nodded. "Yes, it does, so like I said, I'll let you get changed and then I'll pick you up at 8pm for dinner. I've got this great place in mind for our first date." Caroline smiled. "Fine," she said
They walked together in peace for a few minutes, finding they had a lot in common, and then Caroline caught sight of her Romeos, springing at her from every direction. She shoved him to and fro, trying to escape. "What's going on?" he said. She shook her head "It's too hard to explain." Tyler waved his paintbrushes, Klaus declared his love, and Matt pointed at his abs. "I'm sorry, Stefan, but I've got to go!" Caroline ran to her apartment which was only a block away and locked her door, leaning against it to catch her breath.
After a minute, she kicked off her shoes, and pulled off her jacket, turning to see the Magnificent Enzo hanging down from her living room light. She screamed. "Enzo, what are you doing here?" she watched the magician untangle himself. "Blowing your mind!" He was adamant on breaking his own record, but upon his haste, dropped, and tripped over the coffee table, falling on it so it smashed. "This is crazy! It needs to stop!" she screamed, staring at the destruction he left behind. "You don't love me, you don't even know me! Get out!"
When Caroline had shoved him outside, ignoring his protests and checking her cupboards, she dialled Elena, sipping her red wine, and listening to the dial tone. There was a scuffle, two kinds of laughter, and then Elena's voice. "Hello?" Caroline smiled, it was good to hear her so happy. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" she said. Elena perked up. "Not at all, what's up?" Caroline told her about all the weird things that had happened to her since Rome. "I swear I'm not losing my mind, am I?" She needed Elena to tell her she wasn't.
Elena muttered measurements to Damon. "What are you two doing?" Damon spoke into the phone. "Baking..." She was thankful, until he added. "Naked." She took a gulp of wine, trying to forget the image, hearing Elena hushing Damon. Suddenly, he said: "Did you take any coins from the Fonte D'amore?" Of course, she had, but hadn't intended anything of it. Elena butted in. "There's this myth, if you take someone's coin from the fountain they fall in love with you. How many coins did you take?" Caroline put down her empty wine glass. "Five?" she admitted.
Damon chortled into Elena's shoulder, as his wife sighed. This was the worst timing ever for a bunch of Romeo's to be wooing her, but Caroline only had herself to blame. "What am I supposed to do? I can't just jump on a plane to return the coins, I have the Gala in a few days, and-" Elena and Damon told her to keep herself busy, and to avoid her Romeos until they could find out more about the curse. Caroline put down her phone. She received a text from Stefan, reminding her about dinner, and started freaking out when she realised she had nothing to wear.
She sent a text back. Running late, bring painting. And she sent him her address. Stefan arrived on her doorstep wearing a suit and a blue tie. "Wow, you look great," he grinned. She pulled a red cardigan over blue dress, and climbed into a cab. Stefan smiled in a mysterious way when she asked about his painting. "It's at home, I wanted to savour this moment, you see, ever since that night in Rome, I wanted to say-" Caroline saw a waitress with funny goggles on top of her head and made a face at Stefan, who seemed excited.
"Please take my hand and I'll lead you to your table. I'm April Young, and I will be looking after you today." She smiled, and Caroline grabbed her hand, holding Stefan's firmly. "You will not be able to see your partner but your other senses will be heightened. Let me help you with your jacket, sir." Caroline found her seat with difficulty and put her clutch on the table, patting the cutlery and finding her serviette. "I struggle with your muscles," April giggled. Caroline squinted into the darkness trying to locate Stefan. She heard his chair scrape against the floor, and heard him sit.
April was still talking. "If you need anything, raise your hand and an attendant will serve your wine, and now I'm going to go touch other people in the restaurant..." Caroline waited a minute, leaning forward, unable to see a thing, but reaching out and finding Stefan's hand. He caressed her fingertips in a romantic way. She heard her wine being poured, and wondered why Stefan had chosen this restaurant for their first date, but the pros were: none of her Romeos would be there, let only be able to see her. She cleared her throat and lied. "This is nice," she said.
Caroline's wine had barely stained her lips when she heard Matt's voice near her left hand. "Even in the dark you're beautiful..." He grabbed her hand, and placed them against his chest. Horrified, and unable to see, Caroline squeaked, alerting Stefan. "Do you have the time?" Enzo said, whilst Stefan complained his watch had been stolen. "Caroline, I want you to have this..." Klaus said, trying to put something on her left wrist. She flinched, Tyler had just grabbed her foot. "I'm sorry, Stefan, I've got to go!" she yelled, slipping from her chair and crawling beneath the tables.
She breathed the cool night air, looking for a cab, and then Stefan caught up to her. "Oh please, just let me go!" she said, worried the others might find her. "How many guys do you have?" Stefan asked, exasperated. She could see disappointment in his eyes. She tried to explain. "They don't know me, they're under a spell... you don't understand." Caroline kept walking, and Stefan followed. At a restaurant nearby, somebody called her name.
"Why don't you leave me alone, I don't know you!" and she slammed her hand down onto his table.
"Caroline, it's me, Alaric, your dentist! Are you feeling okay?" Caroline tried to smile, apologising, and turned into Stefan, gripping the edge of his jacket. Concerned, Stefan, took her hand, and ran his other through her hair. "Where do you feel safe?" he murmured. She smiled as she said the museum. As soon as she walked inside, Caroline felt at home, and more importantly, safe.
They were standing in front of one of her favourite paintings. Caroline recalled the story about Picasso's lover, as Stefan listened, finding the story calmed her. "Picasso left his wife, Olga, and had an affair with seventeen year old, Marie-Thérèse Walter when he was forty-five, she became his muse for many of his paintings, like this one, called "Le Rêve" or "The Dream," they also had a daughter called Maya. Later, Picasso left Marie-Thérèse for Dora Maar, who became his inspiration for 'The Weeping Woman' series, but after Picasso died Marie-Thérèse hung herself...she just loved him so much, and I guess I just feel...every time I've put myself out there I've gotten hurt..." Caroline paused, seeing Stefan's earnest expression. "I'm just constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop."
"No shoe's going to drop, Caroline. This is real, I'm real." Caroline looked into Stefan's reassuring blue eyes, believing him. She let him raise her chin gently, and smiled when he kissed her in front of her favourite painting. She leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. He smirked, kissing her cheek, and nose, his hands supporting her back. Caroline wanted more, accepting his invitation back to his place...besides she needed to see his painting.
Caroline saw the painting as soon as she entered. "It's so beautiful, and so sad," she whispered, as Stefan put his keys in a bowl on the coffee table, fixing her a glass of champagne. Stefan passed it to her. "You know each time I look at it, all I think about is football, my family, my old man, all the dreams gone in an instant. That was the real hit, because my doctor told me I could never play again. After the lightning, my vision hasn't been the same." Caroline put down her empty glass of champagne, making up her mind. She loosened his tie. He swallowed, gazing into her determined eyes and brushed her hair from her face. She pushed him back onto his lounge, and kissed him, tugging on his bottom lip with her teeth. Kneeling either side of his thighs, she pulled his tie from his shirt, dropping it, and felt Stefan's heart racing against her palm.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Caroline murmured between kisses. Stefan pulled her cardigan from her back, pulling the straps of her dress aside to kiss her bare shoulders. "It was tough, but you wouldn't believe how many women I've slept with since telling them that..." Caroline didn't look impressed. "How many?" He grinned. "I've never told anyone, but you." She undid the ribbon on her dress, tossing her hair over her shoulder and kissed his neck, pleased to hear his shortened breaths.
Sliding her palm down his chest and over his belt, Caroline began to rub his groin. "How do you feel now?" she smirked, teasing his earlobe with her front teeth. She was almost about to undo his belt, when she noticed something blue on the top of the lounge. It was surrounded by biscuit crumbs and beer bottle caps - a gambling chip, much like the one she had pulled from the Fonte d'Amore. Her heart stopped and she prised her lips from Stefan's, feeling sick, and re-tying her dress.
"What's wrong? We can slow down?" Stefan said, noticing her distress. She didn't want to hurt him, not again, but she couldn't, and she couldn't tell him the truth. "I have to go..." she picked up her cardigan and clutch, hesitating when he called out, confused and patience waning. "I don't understand?" She could have kissed him all night, but Stefan didn't love her, he only thought he did. "It's not real, Stefan, and it's never going to be real." Caroline opened the door. "What about the photograph?" Caroline looked over her shoulder, and shook her head. "I don't want to see you in pain..." she admitted, closing the door and muffling a sob with the back of her hand.
A/N: I was going to make Enzo the model, and Matt, the magician, but in the end, opted for a shirtless, Matt, rather than a shirtless, Enzo. Reviews welcome! x